


you were always the one for me

by tintatalk



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Crossposted on AFF, F/M, M/M, Smut, growing up fic, lots of kissing!!, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-18
Updated: 2016-08-18
Packaged: 2018-08-09 12:34:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7802050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tintatalk/pseuds/tintatalk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Baekhyun liked kissing Chanyeol. Chanyeol liked kissing Baekhyun. They were best friends, but that was okay, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	you were always the one for me

**Author's Note:**

> hello - okay so I changed my name on ao3 to match my aff account, I used to be sarahnity.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it. I'm still half dead from Lotto (especially Sehun's dance break can you pls kill me) but I decided to post this. tell me what you guys think :--D
> 
> Also, the schooling is based on the Australian system.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s friendship was a little  _unconventional._

They had been friends since they were in nappies, back when they had chubby Michelin Man legs and bright mischievous smiles. They chased each other for hours, round and round, never tiring. 

They were kind of like brothers, except they weren’t. Baekhyun had an older brother and Chanyeol was nothing like that to him. Chanyeol was his friend, his  _best_  friend, his partner in crime, the one kid he trusted with his life. And considering all the cruel things children did in primary school, the fact that he trusted Chanyeol at allwas _big._

They had gone to different primary schools back then, Baekhyun forced to follow in his brother’s footsteps. Initially that had begun with a lot of tears from both their ends, neither wanting to part with each other. But their parents agreed they'd be able to meet every weekend and so they did, playing and promising with sure hearts that they'd go to the same high school.

When the kids started to bully Chanyeol for his weight, Baekhyun begged his mother to let him go to his best friend’s school. Nothing hurt Baekhyun more than the sight of Chanyeol messily hiding his tears. The kids didn’t know Chanyeol like Baekhyun did. They didn’t know how wonderful the other boy was.

He started Hapkido soon after, promising Chanyeol that he’d beat up any kid who even dared to whisper something cruel. The first time he made true with his promise had him grounded for days, but it was worth seeing the brilliant smile on Chanyeol’s face as he kicked them to the ground.

One weekend, Chanyeol had come over to Baekhyun’s house and the two of them watched the movie  _Babe_. Baekhyun had laughed when he saw the cute piggie, suddenly reminded of his lovely chubby friend. He called Chanyeol  _Babe_ after that, watching the other’s cheeks pinken slightly in embarrassment. Chanyeol didn’t seem to be offended by the nickname, knowing his best friend never had any mean undertones like the boys at school.

As a whole, primary school went by rather slowly, both eagerly awaiting weekends to meet up and play with each other. When Chanyeol had gotten the latest console for his birthday, he rang Baekhyun up and bragged about the new flashy device until his best friend was laden with envy. Baekhyun had rushed over soon after and the two of them stayed up late playing Banjo Kazooie. Or at least until Yoora shooed them away, complaining about ‘little boys being way too loud’.

But that’s what they were known for. They were the loud-mouth duo. Baekhyun always had an arm on Chanyeol’s shoulder, reiterating their strong friendship. No matter where they went, they were constantly touching each other, fingers around shoulders, around biceps, around waists. It started as mere reassurance that the other was there, that they weren’t separated like they were in primary school.

The constant touching stayed with them long after they left primary school and started high school, hands finding each other at all times. They were joined at the hip, knees brushing and thighs touching. Even when Chanyeol started growing upwards, leaving Baekhyun trailing slowly behind, the older constantly had an arm over Chanyeol’s broadening shoulder.

“I’m not going to stop hanging all over you just because you’re tall now, Babe!”

 

“Why do you call him ‘babe’?” Yoora had asked once with a curious expression on her face. The two were caught in an intense tickle war that used a lot of extraneous material like blankets and pillows. One poor pillow had been massacred in the fight, but that was nothing out of the ordinary when both Baekhyun and Chanyeol were involved.

“Because he’s my Babe!” Baekhyun announced rather loudly, reaching over to pinch at Chanyeol’s chubby cheeks. The younger boy grumbled, unwillingly smiling despite the name-call.

Yoora had left with a somewhat confused but satisfied look on her face, and it didn’t occur to Baekhyun until much later that the older girl probably mistook the name. Oh well, Baekhyun thought, she would realise in the future.

 

No one saw Baekhyun without Chanyeol or Chanyeol without Baekhyun. They were a packaged duo. If you saw one, the other was most likely trailing slightly behind. Two peas in a pod didn’t explain just how close they were, just how they managed to fit together.

There were times during their early high school years where tension brewed between them. New friends was always somewhat of a sore topic, jealousy springing on both ends at even the hint of a new companion. It had always been Chanyeol and Baekhyun but suddenly there was a Kris and Baekhyun was pushed away to the side.

Objectively speaking, Baekhyun knew Kris was a nice guy. He had to be if _Chanyeol_ was friends with him. It was nothing that helped Baekhyun throughout the nights though, thinking about Chanyeol reaching over to wrap his arm around Kris’ shoulder. He could imagine it now, his best friend’s long and gangly body pressing hard against the equally tall basketball player.

It made him angry for reasons he couldn’t exactly explain, causing him to avoid Chanyeol as much as possible. He made new friends with Jongdae and Minseok soon after, two boys who took him under their wing and showed him the ropes. Chanyeol picked up on his distance relatively quickly after that, getting under Baekhyun’s skin and asking him what he did wrong.

Baekhyun had tried to resist the younger boy’s charms, but there was nothing he could do when Chanyeol fluttered his eyelids at him, mouth drooping sadly. He was sold. Chanyeol being sad wasn't something he could handle. Thinking about the younger boy being sad made _him_ sad. And just like that, their tension was gone.

They were closer than ever after that brief stint, realising just how much they hated being apart. There was nothing worse than the two of them being separated and from then on the touching took an even steeper turn. If they were in the same vicinity then they were next to each other, bodies practically melded together.

Baekhyun always rested his arm on the younger boy’s shoulder whenever he could, but lanky beansprout Chanyeol practically took up that job for him. He was constantly draped over Baekhyun like a blanket, like that was his job.

Baekhyun didn’t mind though. He liked the touching.

He liked the attention.

The touching never stopped, only increasing as the years went by. And so it didn’t really come as a surprise when Chanyeol shyly stood next to him during their tenth year of schooling, asking him if he had ever kissed someone before.

“No, I haven’t,” Baekhyun responded honestly.

“Oh, me neither,” Chanyeol’s voice cracked on the last syllable, a mix of obvious nerves and puberty.

Baekhyun had been dealing with his own set of changes during puberty, but it was nothing compared to the way Chanyeol’s voice was changing. When he first heard his friend’s deep voice, Baekhyun nearly flipped. Who would’ve thought baby-faced Chanyeol would have a voice like _that?_

Nonetheless, when Chanyeol clambered up all his courage to ask Baekhyun, the older boy smiled, brain on the same wavelength. He turned towards his tall friend and muttered the one question he was sure the other was too shy to ask.

“Do you want to practice kissing on me?”

In Baekhyun’s eyes, it made sense. There was no one else he wanted to give his first kiss to. Chanyeol was his everything, from womb to tomb, really. And such, he watched Chanyeol’s pretty brown eyes sparkle in the dark room, holding the younger boy’s sweat-slick palm on top of his own.

Chanyeol was really handsome, Baekhyun thought, feeling his heart race. He hit his stomach slightly, trying to stop the odd feelings from rising up. Never had he felt so weird around Chanyeol before, and the somewhat sick-feelings building in his chest and stomach were entirely unwelcomed.

The feelings did not cease when Chanyeol moved forward, eyes locked on the elder. His friend’s face was much less chubby than it was in primary school and Baekhyun interestingly observed the other’s features. From his sharpening jawline to prominent cheekbones, he was truly changing a lot. Reaching out to touch the other’s jaw, Baekhyun smiled, realising just how handsome his best friend was becoming.

“Are you ready?” Chanyeol whispered, face now dangerously close to Baekhyun’s. His breaths puffed between them and the older boy shivered when he felt the warmth on his lips.

Instead of responding verbally, Baekhyun pushed forward, slotting their lips together. There was a moment of still silence as the two of them moved past the fact that they were actually _kissing_. Something felt wrong at first, like Baekhyun wasn’t meant to kiss Chanyeol. He had grown up with the other. Chanyeol was his best friend not his _boyfriend_. Why was he kissing him?

But then Chanyeol moved his head to the side, letting their lips connect together once more. This angle was a lot nicer, Baekhyun thought, sliding his lips against his best friend’s with increasing passion.

There was something weird about kissing that he couldn’t get used to. At least not immediately. It wasn’t like kissing your own skin. In the past, Baekhyun had tried giving himself hickeys on his arm, forever curious about what it would feel like. This was nothing like that, the lips against him having a mind of their own. 

It was addicting, Baekhyun soon realised, reaching out to tangle his fingers in Chanyeol’s hair and feeling thick palms clench at his waist. It felt nice to be held in Chanyeol’s arms and he let the bigger boy hold him rather delicately, enjoying the weight around him. There was something rather soothing about being held like this and Baekhyun expressed his like by opening his mouth and swiping a tongue at Chanyeol’s lower lip.

The kiss continued for a while after that, a real exploration on both ends. Chanyeol held him safe and secure in the weight of his arms and Baekhyun stretched his body up, angling himself to gain the upper on the younger boy.

When they finally parted from each other, there was a string of saliva that connected them. Their breaths were long-winded, haggard, like they had just run a marathon and Baekhyun was pretty sure he felt Chanyeol hard against his thigh. Not that Baekhyun wasn’t just as hard.

“Wow,” Chanyeol said after that, wiping his wet lips with the palm of his hand.

“Yeah,” Baekhyun laughed, smiling at his friend. “Thanks Babe!”

“No worries,” Chanyeol smiled back at him.

If Baekhyun was being honest, he was kind of worried the kiss was going to ruin his relationship with Chanyeol. They didn’t see each other after that for a few days, Chanyeol visiting his grandmother for the weekend. There hadn’t been much time for them to talk about what transpired after the kiss and all Baekhyun could do was wait for the other to come back home with an unsure feeling in his gut.

The relationship he had with Chanyeol as his best friend was the easiest thing in the world. It was practically as easy as breathing. He prayed their closeness wasn’t going to change now.

When Chanyeol came back after visiting his grandmother, Baekhyun let out a sigh of relief. His best friend had wrapped his arms around him as per usual.

Their friendship was fine.

He smiled extra wide that day, holding Chanyeol’s hand against his chest.

As such, he was surprised when Chanyeol, only a few days later, leaned over and planted a kiss on Baekhyun’s lips. They were studying for their dreaded Chemistry exam, stressed looks on both their faces. When Baekhyun said something about feeling tired, Chanyeol stayed quiet. Baekhyun took the other’s silence as an expression of agreement, not expecting the press of soft lips against his own.

He had laid there, body stretched out and frozen on his bed, unable to comprehend Chanyeol’s actions.

Chanyeol kissed him again. He _kissed him again_.

“W-what was that for?” Baekhyun asked, his cheeks heating up exponentially just like the curves he learnt in Maths only a few weeks prior.

Chanyeol shrugged, looking way too calm for Baekhyun’s liking.

“I really liked kissing you last time.”

It was strange how easily shook up Baekhyun was by the kiss. Most times he was the one who always had the situation under control. He was known for being strong and fearless.

And yet, under the warm lights of his bedroom and a stack of Chemistry papers lain around them, Baekhyun felt shocked.

“B-but Babe!”

The nickname escaped him like it always did, but this time something felt different. He knew couples called each other cute nicknames like ‘baby’ and ‘babe’ and while he never meant it in that sense, the context made him feel like he did.

Chanyeol held his hand straight after, staring him in his eyes. He proceeded to ask Baekhyun if he liked kissing him too, which Baekhyun had responded with a resolute yes. That was all Chanyeol seemed to need, moving forwards to plant another one on his best friend.

Apparently it was just as easy as that, and the two moved on with their relationship without a further bat of an eye. Their friendship was normal after that, hugging and teasing with no respect for personal space.

But they kissed too, so maybe their friendship wasn’t normal.

The few sometimes soon became _all the time_. Whenever they were alone, Baekhyun moved forward and pressed a kiss on Chanyeol’s shoulder. Whenever Baekhyun was making them food, Chanyeol wrapped his arms around Baekhyun’s waist and kissed him on the temple.

Sometimes when they were watching television, Baekhyun would get bored and steal Chanyeol’s attention away with mind-numbing kisses. He’d climb into the younger boy’s lap, letting his legs wrap neatly in between the other’s thighs as he trailed kisses up a long pale neck.

Other times, Chanyeol would distract Baekhyun mid-study with a soft kiss on the forehead. He’d tell Baekhyun to cool down on the intense work and that even though they were graduating high school in a few months, he could afford a break.

Some of the kisses were surprisingly intimate and they got Baekhyun’s stomach tingling, fingers trembling. Some kisses sent shockwaves through him, feeling them on the other end. All the way through the tips of his fingers and to the ends of his feet.

The kisses followed them whenever they were alone and had the chance. Baekhyun never had the guts to kiss Chanyeol in front of others, knowing that people would get the wrong impression. Kisses were meant for lovers, for romantic partners. They weren’t meant for best friends.

But as Baekhyun sat in bed, a bowl of popcorn laying in the middle of his thighs, he watched Chanyeol snooze off on his side. The younger boy’s head was drooping sleepily on Baekhyun’s shoulder, bopping up and down before eventually falling flat on the soft skin of Baekhyun’s trapezius. It was this sight that caused Baekhyun to disagree. Maybe kisses weren’t meant for normal best friends but they were definitely meant for Chanyeol.

 

The first time someone had witnessed them kissing was the day _everyone_ witnessed them kissing.

They were graduating high school.

While the occasion should’ve been enjoyable and stress free, Baekhyun was freaking out more than the entire year combined. There was just something in the air about Graduation that caused him to shrivel up on the spot. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that _he_ was the Senior Music Captain and thus it was he who had to speak in front of a few thousand people. Maybe it didn’t have something to do with that. Either way, Baekhyun was stressed.

He was pacing behind the black curtain, hands in pockets and face turned downwards when his best friend found him.

Chanyeol looked really good. He was wearing the customary grey slacks and white shirt, topped off with their maroon and blue tie. The sleeves were folded back against his forearms revealing newly developed muscle. His tie was slightly crooked but to Baekhyun he was perfect.

“Hey,” Chanyeol smiled at him softly, reaching out to hold Baekhyun’s hand within his own palm. “You got this, okay?”

Baekhyun sent him a grateful smile, heart still racing in his chest. A loud cheer sounded from behind the curtain and he gulped slightly when he realised that the Sports Captain had probably finished her speech.

“Baek,” Chanyeol took his hands and held it against his chest. The look in his eyes was strong and emotional, subduing the slightly older boy. He held Baekhyun’s gaze, nicely parted black hair framing his eyes handsomely. “You’re honestly going to smash this. You’re the most dedicated and talented music student, besides me,” he laughed slightly, sending Baekhyun a silly look, “and everyone will be entranced by you. Just as I always am.”

“Babe…” Baekhyun’s heart clenched in his chest and he sent the other an extremely thankful smile.

He reached a hand out to touch at Chanyeol’s jaw, something that he always tended to do, brushing at the slightly coarse shaved skin there. Chanyeol leaned further into his hand, brilliant smile extending all the way across his face.

Just as he was about to lean up and kiss his friend, he was signalled onto the stage.

“Baek.”

Baekhyun turned at the last second, eyes flickering towards his best friend.

“Love you.”

Heart racing in his chest, Baekhyun smiled.

“Love you too.”

 

Just like Chanyeol had predicted, Baekhyun smashed the speech. It wasn’t the longest speech in the world and he grinned wide at the audience when he spoke the last few words that went something along the lines of, ‘ _we’ll never forget the memories we’ve made in this wonderful school_.’

He was ushered towards the rest of the seated students, eyes eagerly searching to find Chanyeol. The younger boy was involved in the making of the Senior Video, specially chosen for the task. He was known as the Happy Virus, the one kid almost everyone liked and enjoyed talking to. And so it was no wonder he was chosen to take videos of their cohort during their last year.

As the video finally played, the last little thing before they were officially dismissed as _graduated_ students, Baekhyun sat in his seat. He had already applied for university and hoped with all his heart that he and Chanyeol were able to attend it together.

The special video ended on the image of their entire grade, and Baekhyun squinted seeing himself laying down on the grass in the front with Chanyeol next to him. He spotted Kris, Jongdae and Minseok scattered within their cohort, bright grins on their faces. It was a nice picture depicting their year and Baekhyun’s heart clenched a little in nostalgia at the thought that he would be soon leaving these people.

They were officially dismissed only a few moments later, complete with a certificate and a picture of their faces on the front. Their principal had spoken a few words of acknowledgement before granting them well wishes for the future.

His parents and older brother were somewhere in the crowd, but all Baekhyun wanted to find was Chanyeol. It was surprisingly hard to find the giant in the large rush of students eager to leave the building. Baekhyun wasn’t like them however, standing back and trailing his eyes from figure to figure.

“Baek!” A voice shouted loud near him, but it wasn’t the one he really wanted to hear.

“Jongdae~” Baekhyun smiled wide at the sight of his friend. He reached over and gave him a hug, feeling the other’s certificate crush slightly into the flesh of his shoulder. “We’re done!”

“We are,” Jongdae whooped loudly, shaking his head and letting his black hair flutter away from his forehead. “I can’t believe it.”

“Me neither,” Baekhyun responded before looking into the crowd, eager to find Chanyeol.

“Are you looking for your parents?”

“No…” Baekhyun replied a little distractedly, still focused on the important matter of finding his best friend. “Oh!”

And that was when he saw Chanyeol, standing a little off to the side and grasping his certificate in between his fingers. Baekhyun quickly hopped off towards him, bright grin on his face.

Inwardly he sort of remembered that he was leaving Jongdae behind him, but he brushed away the thought, eager to catch up to his best friend.

“Babe!” Baekhyun yelled, not even bothering to catch himself. He didn’t usually call Chanyeol ‘Babe’ in school, having been mistaken many times in the past.

Chanyeol turned instinctively at the call, face lighting up at the sight of Baekhyun. He opened his arms wide just as Baekhyun ran into him, picking the smaller boy up and twirling him around.

“We’re finished!” Chanyeol laughed happily as Baekhyun pushed his face into his best friend’s shoulder, nose planted rather stiffly into the taut white material.

Baekhyun could hear the happy smile on his friend’s face and that only made him grin even wider, gripping at strong arms.

“We’re finished!” Baekhyun agreed when Chanyeol finally stopped spinning him around, placing him back on his feet.

When he looked up at his best friend, he watched the tall boy’s bright eyes sparkle under the ambient lighting. He looked so pleased, so happy. Baekhyun couldn’t help himself when he reached up to touch at Chanyeol’s face, fingers trailing over a sharp jaw.

He barely had time to think through the situation and the certain _extra_ tinkle in his friend’s eyes before Chanyeol leaned forward and kissed him.

Letting out a little mousy squeak of surprise, Baekhyun instinctively relaxed into the welcomed kiss, fingers brushing from cut jaw to soft hair, holding his best friend’s head close. Chanyeol kissed him with strength, with passion, opening his mouth and enveloping their tongues together.

Their kiss wasn’t chaste by any means but Baekhyun didn’t give two shits, clutching the boy as close as he could to his chest, feeling the warm heat of Chanyeol’s body seep through him.

When they finally released each other, Baekhyun brought his arms around Chanyeol’s waist, resting his head in the middle of his chest. Chanyeol responded by wrapping his arms tight around his smaller body, pressing his cheek on the top of Baekhyun’s head.

“You spoke really well.”

“I liked your video.”

They both smiled and Baekhyun kissed the middle of Chanyeol’s chest before leaning back.

It was only then did he realise they kissed in public. In _public_. His eyes widened as he looked at a few disapproving parents and wide eyed classmates. His heart raced in his chest before he calmed himself down. It wasn’t like he was going to see these kids again anyway.

But then he turned back and saw Jongdae and Minseok waiting behind him, mischievous grins on their faces, and Baekhyun ‘eeped’ in embarrassment.

 

It took a lot of convincing before Jongdae and Minseok accepted Baekhyun’s assurance that he and Chanyeol were ‘ _just friends’_.

“Friends don’t kiss each other like that Baek,” Jongdae commented one day nearly a month after they had graduated.

“I promise you we’re just friends though,” Baekhyun grumbled, a little sullen.

Since the two had seen them at Graduation, Baekhyun had been constantly asked again and again if he and Chanyeol were dating. He didn’t know how to get it through their thick skulls that _no_ , they were just friends. They had always been friends and that was all they were going to be.

“Yeah okay,” Jongdae nodded, glancing up from his mix of green salad and chicken pasta. “But what if Chanyeol got a girlfriend.”

Baekhyun shrugged, the idea not bothering him in the slightest.

“He can get a girlfriend if he wants.”

He had thought about girlfriends in the past, and it really didn’t bother him at all. Chanyeol was his best friend, a girl wasn’t going to come in between that.

 “Would you guys still kiss each other?” Jongdae asked curiously, fork filled with a mix of chicken and green leafy vegetables.

“I don’t know okay,” Baekhyun’s cheeks reddened slightly. “We’d have to talk about it.”

 

Turned out, they had to talk about it sooner rather than later.

There was this one girl Baekhyun had known Chanyeol was speaking to, a lady that was a little older than them. She worked in the one record store Chanyeol always bought his music from. Baekhyun had met her a few times when his friend brought him along to _peruse_. Chanyeol had used that word when he first brought Baekhyun there, claiming that he had no money so all he wanted to do was _peruse_ the music.

Baekhyun teased him about it for the next few days.

The girl though, was nice, if Baekhyun had remembered correctly. She was pretty, he guessed. There wasn’t anything that really stood out about her, and Baekhyun tried to brush away the feelings that Chanyeol was too good for her.

Obviously, he didn’t know her well enough to say that at all, but in his head he grumbled a little, knowing that he’d have to share Chanyeol with her now.

What Baekhyun didn't realise was just _how_ much compromise he'd have to put up with now that Chanyeol was committed.

It was during their movie night that Baekhyun moved to sit in his best friend's lap, ready to kiss him on the lips.

“Baek,” Chanyeol moved his head to the side when Baekhyun moved his lips towards him.

“What?” Baekhyun’s eyes went wide.

Chanyeol had never refused his kisses before. Never. Even when they had fights, Chanyeol always forgave him as soon as Baekhyun pouted with his puppy eyes. Now he found himself a girlfriend and decided it was time to reject Baekhyun’s kisses? What the fuck was up with that?

“Dara…” Chanyeol looked away awkwardly. His hands were still wrapped around Baekhyun’s hips, keeping him safe within the comforts of his lap. At least that didn’t change. “Wouldn’t it be kind of weird?”

Baekhyun frowned, lips turning downwards into a pout. He sat very still in Chanyeol’s lap, feeling unsure. Was he suddenly not welcome here? Was he suddenly not able to sit here like he had done in the past? Because it was _kind of_ weird?

“But we’re… we’re friends!”

Chanyeol looked down sadly at him.

“I don’t think Dara would see it that way.”

Baekhyun huffed. No one saw it that way though. At least they were consistent on that part.

“Explain it to her then,” Baekhyun bit his lip in sadness. He didn’t want to stop kissing Chanyeol. That was one of his favourite things to do. How was he supposed to survive when all he could do around his friend was stare longingly at his lips?

“Ah fuck it.”

Chanyeol mumbled before moving his hands up to tilt Baekhyun’s head back. There was barely enough time for Baekhyun to get a hold of himself before Chanyeol seized his lips.

Moaning into the kiss, Baekhyun sighed happily as he reached up to grab at Chanyeol’s hair. There was _definitely_ no way he could live without this.

Kissing Chanyeol was like coming home. He’d been doing it for so long, he practically survived off of Chanyeol’s kisses. They got him longing, they got him breathless. They got him hard too but most of the time he ignored that part.

When Chanyeol pulled away, lips barely leaving the smaller boy, he stared him down, thumb brushing against Baekhyun’s cheekbone in affection.

“When you have that sad look on your face,” Chanyeol let out a little laugh, fondness now melting into his expression. “I can’t say no.”

Baekhyun grinned a little evilly at him. “Well then, don’t say no.”

The smile faded from the tall boy’s face, but he continued to rub at Baekhyun’s cheekbone. Slow, soft brushes, thumb just grazing the edge.

“She’s my girlfriend, Baek.”

Frowning, Baekhyun leaned back.

“I’m your _best_ friend. Your bestfriend.”

Chanyeol didn’t look convinced and Baekhyun bundled his feet even closer together, resting his hands on his friend’s thighs.

“Come on, our kisses don’t mean the same anyway.”

Chanyeol’s unsure look deepened, “Yeah?”

Baekhyun nodded, slapping Chanyeol’s thighs softly.

“Yeah.”

 _Our kisses mean so much more_.

 

They didn’t stop kissing, but Baekhyun did make an effort to try and curb his urges. He didn’t want his friend to feel weird around him. And so it was only during the most dire of times that he leaned over and kissed Chanyeol.

Unlike before, Chanyeol hardly resisted, smiling happily into the kiss. When Baekhyun asked him why, he responded.

“Because our kisses don’t mean the same anyway.”

Baekhyun wasn’t sure why that made his stomach ache a little. He pawned it off as indigestion.

They started university soon after, Baekhyun in Music and Chanyeol in Engineering. Chanyeol had taken an elective in Music Theory, the one subject they shared and Baekhyun thought life was good.

University was going by well, assessment suddenly piling on them only a few weeks into the early semester. Baekhyun really enjoyed his class with Chanyeol though, always amazed at just how talented his best friend was. He was better than most of the Music majors and Baekhyun always laughed when the girls piled up next to the tall boy and asked him what he was studying.

“Oh, Engineering.” Chanyeol would laugh when the girls gasped loudly and asked how he had time to study music on the side.

Admittedly, it was a weird combination but Chanyeol seemed to work it well, always on top of his subjects no matter what. He had an interest in Sound Engineering and that was what he wanted to do, eager to learn more about acoustics. He even helped Baekhyun with his Music Production subject, teaching him what he knew about the finer aspects of mixing and mastering, all the technical EQ-ing that involved weird Sine curves and Saw curves Baekhyun thought he left behind in school.

Chanyeol’s relationship with Dara was going strong and surprisingly Baekhyun was a little jealous. It wasn’t that he was jealous _of_ Dara, knowing that Chanyeol loved him the most. However, it was more to do with the fact that Dara had recently been trying to pull Chanyeol’s attention away from Baekhyun.

The tall boy had no clue this was happening, because the guy was probably the most oblivious dude in the world. Baekhyun could, of course, see it clearly.

He had first noticed it when he met up with the two, third wheeling on a special food date.

All he was doing was acting normal, arms around Chanyeol’s side, fingers wrapped around a muscled bicep. Chanyeol was draped over him as they walked, laughing brightly and ruffling Baekhyun’s hair. Just the typical stuff.

It was then that Baekhyun realised he wasn’t the one third wheeling, _Dara_ was.

When he eventually looked towards the second person he was with, the expression on her face indicated that she wasn’t happy. It made Baekhyun feel both good and bad at the same time. Good, because he was stealing Chanyeol’s attention away. Bad, because Dara was angry. As possessive as he was, he didn’t want Chanyeol’s relationship with this girl to end so quickly. They seemed to suit each other well, or at least, well enough. They were no Baekhyun and Chanyeol but then again, no one ever was.

Since then Dara had been a little weird around Baekhyun. A little short-worded. A little snappish. Baekhyun took it easily, knowing that he did take up a lot of Chanyeol’s time. It probably wasn’t nice to have a boyfriend that always hung around another man. And _kissed_ another man. But that was another story.

 

Things only really went to shit one day when Baekhyun had unexpectedly visited Chanyeol at his house.

He knew his friend didn’t have class on Wednesdays and decided to pop over after his last tutorial, ready to raid his pantry and maybe play on his playstation. To say he was surprised when Dara had opened the door was an understatement, not expecting to see the older girl there.

“Oh!” Baekhyun had exclaimed, standing straighter.

He didn’t realise Dara visited Chanyeol at his house. But that was a stupid thought. They had been dating for a few months, why _wouldn’t_ she visit him at his house? But if she visited him, then they did things together, right? They must do other things besides kissing.

Why did that make Baekhyun’s stomach churn slightly? Must’ve been the eggs he had for brunch. He had a feeling they weren’t cooked properly.

“What?” Dara didn’t look very happy seeing him standing there. She had seemed slightly agitated as soon as she opened the door though. Seeing Baekhyun probably didn’t help anything.

“Oh, is Chanyeol—well,” Baekhyun let out a laugh. “Of course he’s home.”

“Who is it?” Chanyeol yelled out, sounding annoyed. He walked around the corner, eyes widening happily when he caught the sight of Baekhyun. “Hey! I thought you had a Music Prod assignment to finish?”

“Kyungsoo helped me,” Baekhyun smiled, moving past Dara whose arms were crossed unhappily. “I didn’t realise you had company though, I can leave.”

The other looked a little frazzled, black hair messy. He was wearing a hoodie and jean shorts, typical Chanyeol clothing. Handsome, as always.

“Oh no!” Chanyeol shook his head suddenly. Moving over, he quickly grabbed Baekhyun’s hand and pulled him into the kitchen. “Yoora baked some of her cookies.”

Chanyeol’s palm felt rough with callouses but Baekhyun quickly tugged his fingers away, feeling Dara’s hot gaze practically incinerate him from behind.

“Oh,” Baekhyun smiled as Chanyeol quickly moved to open his Tupperware filled with Yoora’s special cookies. “That’s okay, Babe. I’ll get some next time.”

“Babe?” Dara interrupted, looking weirdly between Baekhyun and Chanyeol. “Did you just call him babe?”

“Huh?” Baekhyun responded, turning around to face the older girl. She looked upset, glancing between Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

“Dara…” Chanyeol had stopped opening the cookie box, voice exasperated. “It’s not what you—”

“So,” her voice was icy. “This is why you told me not to call you that.”

She was positively infuriated. Her hip was resting on the kitchen table, arms crossed. Pretty long hair framed her face, but the expression she was sending Chanyeol was terrifying. Baekhyun kind of wanted to run away.

“You already have your _boyfriend_ calling you that.”

Baekhyun tried to interrupt, “No, he’s just... You know the movie? Babe?”

“What a lousy excuse,” Dara’s glare had turned towards Baekhyun now and the small male shivered in fear. “I see how you drape yourself all over him when I’m there. You’re trying to ward me off.”

Baekhyun cleared his throat, trying to alleviate all the weird tension that was brewing. Dara looked extremely pissed off, hands clenched together at the sides of her waist. This must’ve been what they were arguing about beforehand.

“I’m not trying to ward off any—”

“You’re his little bitch!” Dara spat at him, sending him a look that made Baekhyun feel like he was worthless.

“Excuse me?” Baekhyun responded, eyebrows furrowing. He felt mildly insulted by Dara’s comment, and he walked closer towards the girl, eyeing her down. “What have I ever done to you?”

She looked shocked that she had said the words, and her face turned somewhat sorrowful.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to call you that.”

Her voice was soft and Baekhyun’s steel hard gaze waned.

“It’s okay,” Baekhyun gave her an encouraging smile. “What’s wrong, though?”

Her breathing sped up, hands suddenly flying towards her face. Little tears began to appear in the creases of her eyes and Baekhyun gently shh’d her.

“Hey, hey.”

Somewhat forgetting about Chanyeol who was standing awkwardly in the kitchen, Baekhyun moved towards Dara, reaching out to rub her back comfortingly. He hoped he wasn’t overstepping his boundaries by doing this. As such, he let out a surprised gasp when Dara grabbed him and started crying softly into his neck.

“I’m just. You’re-you’re all… he ever wants,” she hiccuped slightly, wet tears flowing down the side of Baekhyun’s neck. “I’m nothing compared to you.”

Reaching over to truly hug the other, Baekhyun calmed her down as best as he could.

She continued to cry for a while longer and Baekhyun stared at Chanyeol, eye-telling him to get out of the room. He silently complied, leaving as Baekhyun consoled Dara, soothing her by saying that it was going to be okay. She disagreed with him, asking if she could talk with Chanyeol in private.

When she left the house, sending Baekhyun one last thankful but heartbroken glance, Baekhyun let out a huge sigh.

“She broke up with me.”

Baekhyun turned towards Chanyeol. His friend didn’t look particularly devastated, more confused than anything and Baekhyun felt his chest cave slightly inwards. He was getting old.

“I’m sorry, Babe.”

Chanyeol didn’t respond for a while, and Baekhyun shuffled towards his frozen figure, gently pressing his head into the tall boy’s chest. It took a few seconds but Chanyeol eventually wrapped his arms around him, holding him tight.

“Oh well,” Chanyeol let out a big sigh as he tightened his grip one last time. “At least she didn’t find out about the kissing.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, turning his face into a muscled chest and pressing a kiss there.

“Dumbo.”

 

Chanyeol was slightly down for a while but after a lot of coercing, he was back to his former high spirits. The girls in their music class had seemed rather interested at the idea of Chanyeol being back on the market, but Baekhyun quickly shooed them all away. His best friend was only just getting over the fact that he was dumped. No way was he going to let another girl come rushing in while he was still down on the ground.

They started to kiss each other again. Baekhyun had begun to feel a little guilty kissing Chanyeol when he was with Dara. He wasn't sure why he felt guilty, knowing there weren't any romantic feelings behind the kisses. Nonetheless, he had toned down a lot. Now that Chanyeol was a free man though, Baekhyun found himself coming back, lips eagerly pressing all over his best friend.

It was so nice to kiss Chanyeol again and Baekhyun prayed the other wasn’t going to find a new girlfriend any time soon.

However, because of the breakup, Chanyeol’s engineering marks had gone down slightly. He wasn’t feeling the content and Baekhyun quickly pushed him to join a study group. Chanyeol was an engineering-brained guy and the fact that he wasn’t absorbing the material indicated that something was wrong.

Luckily he seemed to enjoy his study group sessions, energetically telling Baekhyun about this boy named Sehun and how he made the time really enjoyable. Baekhyun just patted the other on the head, happy that he was enjoying his class. When his marks started improving, Baekhyun was thankful.

Everything was back on track.

 

It was nearing the end of their first year of university when Baekhyun had started to become unsure about his feelings for Chanyeol.

They were still kissing like always. Soft touches that grew to become medium kisses which lengthened and eventually became full blown makeout sessions. More often than not, Baekhyun found himself in Chanyeol’s lap, desperately clawing at his best friend’s hair as he devoured the younger boy’s mouth, chest, _cock_.

That was a recent development if there was ever one.

He had always gotten hard whenever they made out, but during one session Chanyeol had swiped a wayward palm past Baekhyun’s growing erection. He didn’t move past it like they always did, no, he had stopped. And stared.

“Do you… want me to take care of that?” Chanyeol asked breathlessly.

All Baekhyun could do was watch him with wide eyes, nodding his head after a few seconds of no-brained thinking.

The handjob was fast and slippery, a little on the awkward side of things. It was obvious that Chanyeol had never done this to another male before, his grip lax and slightly unsure. He kissed Baekhyun’s neck and nipples, tongue languidly swirling around the rosy bud. It was the sight of Chanyeol taking care of him so thoroughly that got Baekhyun off.

He quickly returned the favour, lithe fingers toying with the tip of Chanyeol’s cock, absentmindedly admiring the pretty pink head.

“When did you get circumcised?” He asked curiously, almost enraptured at the sight of de-hooded cock.

Chanyeol had blushed slightly before he mumbled.

“Dara liked cut guys.”

Baekhyun hummed, fingers flexing around the base of Chanyeol’s cock, tugging slightly at his balls. Chanyeol let out a hoarse moan.

“Well it looks good.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, babe.”

They talked about it afterwards, both accepting the fact that it was just a helpful bro job. Friends did that, didn’t they? A little helping in times of trouble. Both of them were two horny males, they needed release once in a while. And if they were willing to help each other, why shouldn’t they?

After that, Baekhyun had found himself dick in mouth, more often than not. He was giving Chanyeol blowjobs almost as often as he kissed him. And that in itself, was a hell of a lot.

It really didn’t take long before he found out that hey, he kinda liked the feeling of cock in his mouth. Chanyeol’s in particular. And if the way Chanyeol moaned and gripped at his hair said anything, Baekhyun would say that he was pretty good at it.

“Fuck,” Chanyeol swore, fingers tugging Baekhyun’s brown locks.

It was their movie night and they were in the middle of watching some action thriller that Baekhyun clearly wasn’t paying enough attention to. As soon as he saw Chanyeol walk into the room in his black tank top, he had felt the lingering feelings of lust tangle together inside of him.

The other had recently been working on exercising, paying special attention to his biceps and abs. Baekhyun was happily enjoying the improvement, eyeing the hardened muscle in appreciation.

It didn’t take long before he was seated in Chanyeol’s lap, ass grinding rather lewdly into the other’s growing erection.

“Baekhyun, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol moaned, head hitting the back of the sofa. “Baek, fuuucck.”

The man in question kept sucking, delicate fingers stroking at the base and fondling the pair of balls that sat below. He released Chanyeol’s cock with a loud _pop_ , licking his lips sensually.

He pushed his face towards Chanyeol’s cock, letting the wet thickness brush harshly against his cheek and mouth. He watched with intent eyes as Chanyeol swore once again, grabbing himself and pressing even further into the side of Baekhyun’s cheek.

Baekhyun had found out about Chanyeol’s like for pressing his cock against Baekhyun's face the third time he sucked the other off. He had asked him about the fetish afterwards, wondering what he liked about it.

“It’s like…” Chanyeol took his time trying to explain. “It’s just really hot when my cock’s against your face and you’re nuzzling into it.”

Baekhyun had just shrugged, accepting it as one of Chanyeol’s kinks, always trying to add it to his routine whenever he decided to go down on the other.

After that, it really only took a few more strokes and a quick lick of the head before Chanyeol was cumming, white hot liquid spurting from the tip and onto the plains of Baekhyun’s cheeks and mouth.

There was a brief period of silence as Chanyeol rested his head against the couch, body drained from the intensive workout. Baekhyun crawled onto his lap, face still sticky with cum.

“Lemme clean you up,” Chanyeol muttered, eyes still closed. His cock was still out, now soft and wet, resting delicately against his hip.

Baekhyun laughed brusquely, patting Chanyeol’s worn out cheek, letting his fingers graze at and under his jaw.

“That’s okay, babe.”

 

Their saucy rendezvous’ continued all the way up until the end of their first year and into their long few month vacation. Their libidos hadn’t calmed down after the first time they had gotten each other off, Baekhyun now finding himself being actively jerked and sucked off on a regular basis.

They never touched sex though, and it seemed as though that was a simple ‘no spoken’ rule between them. Baekhyun assumed it’d cross a level of intimacy that not even their special friendship could explain.

Christmas was spent with each other, along with New Years and the rest of January. Baekhyun had taken up a part time job at the local ice cream parlour while Chanyeol was busy with some extra credit over-the-break Engineering project. They still managed to find time for each other, their movie nights now really just ‘who-can-get-each-other-off-the-fastest’ nights.

It was kind of a game between them, and Baekhyun often found himself joking in the midst of their time together. Maybe it was a way to loosen the already heavy atmosphere between them, to kind of interrupt their time and remind themselves that this was just a little help between friends, not lovers.

Most of the time, he wasn’t able to say anything, swept up in the way Chanyeol’s large palms took care of him with sure purpose.

Life really was good, and Baekhyun was happy when he started his second year. Chanyeol had taken another Music elective and they were in the same class again, eagerly making progress on their duo song project they had started the year prior.

Chanyeol continued with his study group this year and Baekhyun found himself seeing his best friend less and less. It didn’t bother him, knowing that the other was receiving good purpose from the sessions. So Baekhyun cheered him on along the sides, busy with his own set of assessment piling up.

At first he didn’t really notice when Chanyeol started to refuse his 'helping hands’ as he so liked to call it. Their schedules were pretty busy and Baekhyun found himself quite tired after a day at university and then a night working at the ice cream place.

It was only after Chanyeol had outright refused his hand on dick that Baekhyun realised something was wrong.

Because God forbid Chanyeol refusing Baek-head.

“Hey?” Baekhyun asked quizzically, sitting back on the sofa. His legs were tucked under like they usually were, but this time he wasn’t sitting on Chanyeol’s lap. It felt weird to actually sit on the comfy seat for once, normally planted directly on his best friend’s hard thighs. “What’s wrong?”

Chanyeol didn’t meet his gaze, glancing away to the side.

“Nothing.”

“Oi,” Baekhyun poked him in the arm, “When do you ever refuse my heavenly blowjobs?”

Chanyeol rolled his eyes, stretching a hand up to rub at his neck.

“Well… uh…”

“Tell me, babe,” Baekhyun smiled encouragingly at him, hand now resting at the top of Chanyeol’s knee. He trailed the tip of his pointer finger around the knee cap in a soothing circular motion.

“I kinda… might be seeing someone…”

Baekhyun felt his heart stop in his chest.

“What?”

He turned to face the other, face a blank slate.

Chanyeol looked a little sheepish and he reached a hand up to scratch awkwardly at the back of his ears.

“Yeah… and I think the whole getting each other off thing is probably worse than kissing each other.”

“Yeah,” Baekhyun practically choked on the word he was trying to get out of his mouth. “Probably.”

The smile he gave Chanyeol was the fakest smile in the world but the other looked appeased, seemingly glad that Baekhyun had agreed with him.

They watched their movie after that, a weird tension brooding between them. There was an unusual ache in Baekhyun’s chest as he continued to sit back against the couch, back plastered against the leather seating.

The pain continued to grow as the movie went on and Baekhyun stood up, stumbling towards the kitchen to get a glass of water.

“Hey, you okay?” Chanyeol asked worriedly, head popping up from the couch.

“Yeah,” Baekhyun called back, gulping the glass of water down as fast as possible. “I think I have acid reflux or something.”

“Okay,” Chanyeol still looked worried. “Take care of yourself, Baek.”

“Yeah…” Baekhyun muttered, draining the glass dry. “You too, babe.” 

 

A few days passed before Baekhyun met up with Jongdae and Minseok again.

The other two had gone to different universities and decided that in order to keep in touch, they’d have monthly catch ups. They managed to see each other more often than that however, Minseok always dropping by his ice cream shop just so he could ‘taste test’ everything for the hundredth time.

Today, Jongdae had told him to arrive early. He was extremely elusive over the phone, muttering about Minseok and how he had to tell Baekhyun something.

After a quick manly bro-hug, they relocated to their favourite coffee place. Sitting in the quaint café with two cups of hot steaming coffee in front of them, Jongdae started talking.

“Okay so,” Jongdae began, holding his cup in between his hands. “Did Chanyeol tell you anything recently?”

Baekhyun sat back in his chair, shocked. Was Jongdae referring to what he thought he was referring to? His new girlfriend?

“You mean, his new girlfriend?”

“Girlfriend?” Jongdae winced a little. “Yikes.”

Baekhyun frowned, taking a sip of his coffee. “What do you mean then?”

Shaking his head, Jongdae waved his hand. “No, no. It’s to do with his new… girlfriend.”

The frown deepened on Baekhyun’s face and he moved forward into the table.

“I thought you were going to talk to me about Minseok?”

“Yeah so, you know the pretty boy Minseok’s been crushing on?” Jongdae asked, eyes locking onto Baekhyun’s. “The one that goes to your university?”

“You mean Luhan? Or Lu Han?” Baekhyun questioned, sitting back in his seat. “What about him?”

Minseok had been crushing on this Lu Han kid ever since they started university, having met him through an inter-university soccer game. It was kind of cute the lengths Minseok went to ensure Lu Han’s like for him. He hoped Minseok was able to catch the other’s attention soon enough.

“Yeah, so I have a friend named Tao who’s like best friends with this guy named Sehun who’s like—”

“What?”

“Just listen, okay! Lu Han is studying with Chanyeol. They have like a study group together.”

Oh.

“Oh Lu Han studies Eng?” Baekhyun asked interestedly.

Chanyeol hardly ever told him about his study group. The only thing Baekhyun could remember Chanyeol saying about his study group was that there was some really funny guy or something. He had forgotten what the guy’s name was but it was definitely not Lu Han. Baekhyun would’ve remembered if Chanyeol had talked about Lu Han before.

“Yeah, um, so like,” Jongdae continued, fingers enlacing with each other. “You know how I asked you ages ago how you’d feel if Chanyeol got a girlfriend and you were like ‘he can get a girlfriend I don’t care’ or something like that?”

Baekhyun nodded, unsure where this was going. The weird ache in his chest started to flare up slightly again and he coughed, taking another sip of his drink and hoping it would alleviate the pain.

“What…” Jongdae began, turning his head to the side and spitting the words out quickly. “What would you do if Chanyeol got a boyfriend?”

The words caused Baekhyun to freeze, cup of lukewarm coffee at the edge of his lips. The ache in his chest blossomed suddenly, spreading through him from his inner chest to his outer limbs.

“Baek?”

“I’m…” Baekhyun tried to respond, chest tightening up again. “I’m… What?”

Jongdae looked at him sympathetically, reaching out to hold his hand. “I’m sorry.”

“And it’s Lu Han?”

His friend gave him a nod, squeezing his hand.

“Lu Han, the guy Minseok likes?”

Jongdae nodded again.

Leaning back against his creaky seat, Baekhyun swore.

“Well this is a clusterfuck.”

 

Baekhyun avoided Chanyeol for a few days. He went to his classes but purposefully skipped the class he shared with Chanyeol. When he got home from work, he holed himself up in his room, ignoring his mother calling and telling him that Chanyeol had come over.

Minseok had been equally as shocked when Jongdae spilled the news and Baekhyun felt his heart clench in pity at the look of pain on his friend’s face. Chanyeol knew Minseok but Baekhyun had never told the other about Minseok’s like for Lu Han. That being said, Baekhyun had no clue that his best friend even _knew_ Lu Han.

The weird ache in his chest had followed him through the days, flaring up intermittently. For some reason, the pain seemed to throb whenever he thought of Chanyeol and Lu Han together, in a way Baekhyun had never felt before. Not even when Chanyeol had been with Dara.

With a sigh, Baekhyun sat down on his bed, massaging his temples slowly.

He knew what the pain was. In the back of his head, maybe he had always known what it was.

He _liked_ Chanyeol.

No, he _loved_ Chanyeol.

Since he was young, he loved Chanyeol. He loved him when they were babies running around in their soiled nappies. He loved him when they were kids, when Chanyeol was a little chubbier than most and had his pet ferret on him at all times. He loved him when they were in high school together, when they kissed each other for the first time. Baekhyun had _always_ loved Chanyeol.

And he still loved Chanyeol.

While he knew he loved Chanyeol, it was a different kind of love. Baekhyun loved him _romantically_. His love for the other had stopped being platonic a long time ago. Maybe they initially started kissing without any prior feelings, but since then Baekhyun had fallen for his friend. He had fallen for his goofy, big-eared friend who knew him better than anyone else in the world.

And yet, now he had lost him.

Maybe Baekhyun had not felt so bad when Chanyeol found Dara because inwardly he knew that she was a girl, and Baekhyun was different. Baekhyun was a boy. Baekhyun was the only boy Chanyeol kissed.

But now Chanyeol had his own boy. His own _pretty_ boy, if anything Minseok had been spouting about the other was true.

Why would Chanyeol need him anymore?

The thoughts lingered with him as he went to university, avoiding the one music class he shared with the other. It was nearing two weeks of avoiding before Baekhyun eventually saw Chanyeol. He had been locking himself in the library, the one place he never really went to.

He thought Chanyeol was like him, never using the library either. And so, it was with wide eyes that Baekhyun spotted the other leaving the densely crowded area, exiting the building with a backpack around him.

He was wearing his customary black tank top and black shorts, cap fitted straight on his head. Compared to Baekhyun he looked good, no dark circles under his eyes and bright clean skin. The sight made the older boy’s heart clench in his chest because of course Chanyeol would be fine. He had his new boyfriend to look after him. He didn’t need Baekhyun anymore.

Nonetheless, Baekhyun was shocked to see Chanyeol and he quickly opened up a study room, closing the door just so the other wouldn’t see him if he looked back. Letting out a shallow breath, Baekhyun crumpled against the door, feeling like the weight of the world was on his shoulders.

Unfortunately his hasty retreat caused him to enter a room that was already occupied and Baekhyun nearly jumped when his eyes caught sight of a tall boy sitting at a desk. There was a flurry of papers scattered around him, his legs resting on a chair. Two cups of coffee sat on the table, and Baekhyun inwardly wondered why he needed two.

When the boy looked up, Baekhyun noticed his sharp features, face especially handsome under the bright light. From how long his legs were, Baekhyun assumed he was tall. Really tall. Perhaps even Chanyeol height tall. He was also really handsome too. Really, really handsome.

“You okay?” The guy asked, eyebrows slightly crossed.

It was only then did Baekhyun realise he was practically glued to the door, body plastered to the wooden material like he was glad his feet were touching solid ground or something.

“Oh,” Baekhyun let out an awkward laugh, moving slightly away. He touched his elbow with the tip of his finger, smiling a little in embarrassment. “Yeah, just. Yeah.”

“Looks like you were running away from something?”

The boy’s tone was questioning but his attention remained elsewhere, still caught up with his papers, fingers grazing the white stack.

“Ahh, yeah,” Baekhyun held his bag in his hands. “Just a person I didn’t want to see.”

The boy hummed, taking his feet off the seat and gesturing to the other seats around him.

“Well, you’re welcome to come and study here if you want? I was studying with a few friends but they’ve left already.” The boy shook his head in amusement. “Horny bastards.”

Baekhyun sent him a grateful smile, moving over to sit at one of the spare seats. He took out his laptop, pressing the power button on. Eyeing the sheets of paper, he frowned at the multitude of graphs and mathematics equations.

“What are you studying?” Baekhyun asked conversationally, typing in his password.

The boy looked down at the papers, frowning. “Sadly engineering.”

Baekhyun let out a laugh, cocking his head to the side. “Sadly?”

The boy pouted slightly, his handsome face contorting to become something playful.

“Not exactly the easiest subject in the world. I just got this horrific 40% assignment and I’m already bogged down with stress.”

Nodding, Baekhyun sent him a sympathetic look. “My best friend studies engineering here too, I’ve heard him complain about the assessment like a million times.”

“They’re really terrible,” the boy agreed. He looked over to stare at Baekhyun’s screen, eyes narrowing in confusion at the music program. “What are you studying?”

With a grin, Baekhyun let out a laugh. “Music! Nothing like engineering. Well, maybe sound engineering but I’m shit at all that stuff.”

The boy looked interested, staring at the screen and the MIDI composition. Baekhyun clicked on the maximise button so the boy could see it properly.

“That’s really cool. I have a friend that’s taking a Music elective, but I’ve never seen any of his stuff before.”

“I really enjoy it,” Baekhyun smiled, staring at his arrangement, dragging a plugin over the synth and absentmindedly turning the nobs from side to side.

This was a song he created with Chanyeol one day when the two of them were stuck in the studio, MIDI keyboard in hand. It wasn’t anything special but Baekhyun remembered laughing really hard when Chanyeol first started rapping into the microphone, eventually shutting up when the other became serious. His best friend’s voice sounded _good_ rapping, deep and thick and filled with so much emotion Baekhyun could hardly breathe.

The version Baekhyun had up today was without vocals but just the thought of recording with his best friend made his heart pain in his chest.

Fuck.

“Do you sing?”

“I do.” Baekhyun nodded, trying to bring his attention away from thoughts of Chanyeol.

“You’ll have to show me some time,” the boy smiled at him, eyes turning into crescent moons. 

“Yeah, definitely.”

Their conversation dwindled down after that and Baekhyun plugged his earphones in, eager to start working on his assignment. Time quickly passed as the two worked on their own projects, Baekhyun caught up in his own study ethic. The boy didn’t make much noise besides the occasional groan and Baekhyun shot him sympathetic looks, staring at the cluttered papers.

Nearly two hours had passed before Baekhyun heard the loud ringing noise of a phone. He looked towards his own phone that was on the table, absentmindedly noticing that they had the same ringtone. The boy shot him a look that said ‘sorry’, picking up his phone.

“Hey, what’s up?”

Baekhyun tried to not eavesdrop but curiosity got the better of him, fingers halting.

“Why are you there? I thought you were spending time with Hannie? Oh, your AWOL friend? Yeah, I’m still here. Fuck this assignment. It’s not too bad though, I’m sitting here with this cutie.”

He winked at Baekhyun and the shorter of the two blushed, biting his lip in embarrassment.

“Yeah, yeah. Nah. Okay sure. Bye bye. Yeah stop. Chan, I said bye. Okay, see you soon.”

The name Chan made Baekhyun’s stomach clench and he poked his fingernail in the back of his hand, trying to calm himself. The fact that a syllable of Chanyeol’s name made him feel all weird inside was a terrible thing in itself. He really needed to get over his best friend.

Turning to face the tall boy, Baekhyun smiled at him.

“Wanna get something to eat?”

The boy – sadly – rejected Baekhyun’s offer, apologising about having to quickly rush off and pick up his stupid friend. He promised Baekhyun next time though.

“Definitely next time,” the boy assured with a wink.

It was only when the other was gone that Baekhyun realised he didn’t catch his name. Well, that was a bust.

The rest of the time passed by rather boringly and when Baekhyun packed his things up to go to his night job, he groaned sadly. He wished he had friends to study with at university. Besides Chanyeol he really didn’t have anyone there. That was something he needed to fix.

His shift went by quite quickly, already used to the job he had been working at for the past few months. It was only a weekday so it wasn’t too crowded. When it was reaching 10, he started packing up shop, placing the cold servers and tissues away.

As he was bending down to put the spoons away, he heard the door jingle.

“Sorry, we’re closing.”

“Mm, that’s good.”

The deep voice made Baekhyun freeze, just like the ice cream he had packed away. He stood up quickly, holding the pink cap on his head and making sure it didn’t fly off.

Chanyeol stared him down with a soft look on his face like he was glad to see him. Baekhyun’s heart started in his chest, weird feelings clawing up inside of him. Inwardly, he knew he always felt like this whenever he saw the other, but it was only now that he realised what those feelings meant.

He looked good, changing out of his black tank top into a white muscle t-shirt, material straining against his large biceps. His hair was combed back away from his face, cute ears visible. He was really handsome.

“Babe…” Baekhyun whispered, clearing his throat nervously. “Um… what are you doing here?”

Chanyeol moved a little closer to the ice cream, resting his hands on the top of the counter. He did so with ease, height giving him the ability to press his arms on the cool marble as he stared Baekhyun down.

“You’ve been avoiding me.”

Baekhyun shuffled away, turning his face downwards and wrapping his hands together. He was the last to close up shop, his co-worker Krystal having left nearly an hour ago. There was no one here to save him from this situation.

“Why do you say that?” Baekhyun chuckled apprehensively, trying to clean the counter.

“I haven’t seen you in like two weeks. You haven’t been at Music either.”

“Well,” Baekhyun let out a cough, smiling tersely at his friend. “I’ve been sick.”

“No you haven’t. I asked Kyungsoo about you and he said you were attending your other classes.”

Wincing, Baekhyun cursed Kyungsoo in his head. He continued to wipe at the tables, wet cloth sloshing against the cool marble. Purposefully moving past Chanyeol’s arms, he jerked slightly when the other reached over to grab at his hand.

“Why are you avoiding me?”

“I’m-I’m not.” Baekhyun stuttered, feeling the heat of Chanyeol’s palm seep through him.

“I haven’t seen you since we watched that movie. I’ve been to your house a few times but your mother keeps telling me that you’re out. It only just occurred to me that I can come stalk you at your workplace.”

“Well,” Baekhyun ripped his hand away, feeling the area throb. “I’m here so yes.”

“What’s wrong?” Chanyeol’s voice softened, and he stared at his friend with a confused look on his face. It hurt to see Chanyeol looking so unsure, so sad.

“Nothing.”

“Baek.”

“Chanyeol.”

“Is it because of what I told you?”

Swallowing, Baekhyun moved to look up at his best friend. He held the rag in his fingers, wrapping it around his hand. Chanyeol was staring him down, seeming especially serious. He looked pained at the thought of Baekhyun avoiding him, like this was the worst fate in the world. To Baekhyun, it kind of was. To Chanyeol? Well, he was probably being a little dramatic.

“Lu Han, right?”

“What?”

Chanyeol sounded shocked, like he didn’t expect Baekhyun to have any clue of who he was dating.

“Jongdae told me.”

“How does _Jongdae_ know?”

“Lu Han is Min—” But Baekhyun stopped himself, closing his mouth. Telling Chanyeol that the guy he was dating was the boy Minseok had been crushing on for well over a year wouldn’t help anyone. “We’ve just heard about him before.”

“Oh,” Chanyeol let out a short breath. “So you know it’s a guy.”

“Um yes.”

“Oh good. I… uh… I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“What? That you like men?” Baekhyun said the words sceptically, hardness returning to his tone. “Well sweetie, we’ve been sucking each other off for a good six months now. I think I kinda already knew.”

Chanyeol gaped at him, his mouth opening wide in surprise. While Baekhyun was usually a sassy kind of guy, he was never sassy to his friends. Especially not to his best friend. The whole situation was just getting to him and he rolled his eyes when Chanyeol stuttered awkwardly.

“Ugh, whatever.” He threw the rag into the bin, reaching down to grab his backpack and keys. There was no way he was going to stay here any longer. Chanyeol looked so dazed like he never expected Baekhyun to talk to him like this. Like he expected Baekhyun to come running into his arms as he always did.

Baekhyun was done running into his arms.

Pausing for a second, he inwardly knew that Chanyeol hadn’t done anything wrong. They weren’t exclusive, they weren’t even _together_. Chanyeol probably had no feelings for Baekhyun, just how Baekhyun deluded himself into thinking the same thing. But for some reason he was angry. He was angry and he was annoyed.

“Baek…” Chanyeol called out just as Baekhyun was about to leave the store. His voice sounded slightly wrecked, a sound that made the older of the two stop suddenly, turning to face his long time friend.

Although he was angry and annoyed, just the painful puppy dog look on his best friend’s face caused him to stop. Chanyeol looked so ruined, like the idea of Baekhyun running out on him was more than he could handle. His eyes searched Baekhyun, looking oh so pitiful, the elder exhaled, feelings of love unwillingly blooming for his best friend.

Letting out a sigh that said many things, Baekhyun rolled his eyes and walked towards his best friend. He wrapped his arms around the taller boy’s thick waist, planting his head directly on his chest, hearing the other’s heartbeat thump consistently underneath. Chanyeol had wrapped his arms around Baekhyun as soon as the smaller boy came within arm’s length, holding him steady and close.

They hugged without words, holding each other tight. Baekhyun remembered once thinking that kissing Chanyeol felt like returning home. _Hugging_ Chanyeol was even more soothing, something that warmed him whole. He felt so protected in Chanyeol’s strong embrace, feeling the weight of the younger boy’s cheek rest against his hair.

“I’m sorry for avoiding you,” Baekhyun whispered into a hard chest.

Chanyeol just held him tighter, pressing his cheek even further into Baekhyun.

“I didn’t want the Dara thing to happen again. We’re so close, he… may get the wrong impression.”

It was a shitty excuse for his behaviour, and in reality, he had been staying away because of his feelings for Chanyeol. But, the boy seemed to accept the excuse, hot breath fanning over his head.

“You’re my best friend, Baek. He’ll just have to accept that.”

Usually, Chanyeol professing the strength of their friendship made Baekhyun feel strong and good. But now, with lingering feelings of unrequited love, the sincere tone only made him feel sad. Sighing, he held Chanyeol closer, making sure he took what he could get.

 

Their friendship returned to normal after that. Baekhyun started going to his classes again and they always hung out on Thursdays, their movie night. Unlike before, there was never any kissing and there was definitely no oral sex. It hurt Baekhyun, but he smiled through the pain, glad that he still had his best friend.

He had met Lu Han soon after he reconciled his friendship with Chanyeol, a special lunch date with the two of them. The boy was as pretty as Minseok had described, angelic features and lovely brown hair. He was the softest boy Baekhyun had ever seen in his life, and Baekhyun couldn’t help but appreciate how good both he and Chanyeol looked together.

Unlike the dates he had spent with Chanyeol and Dara, this time he was _actually_ third wheeling. Chanyeol wasn’t touching him like he usually did, hands always on Lu Han. On his boyfriend. Lu Han positively lit up whenever Chanyeol moved to touch him and the sight was so sickeningly sweet, Baekhyun felt the urge to vomit.

It made feelings of resentment build up inside of him, eventually feeling even more jealous when he realised just how _funny_ Lu Han was. The boy was so bright and jubilant, Baekhyun just wanted to jump off a cliff.

“Hey Baekhyun! I bought this for you,” Lu Han smiled at him, holding out a chocolate covered churro. “It’s really nice to finally meet you. Chanyeol talks about you all the time.”

Baekhyun smiled back, tense, taking the churro out of his hand.

The fact that Lu Han seemed to be the nicest person in the world made everything even worse. Baekhyun couldn’t even hate the other, unwillingly liking him by the end of the date. There was nothing bad Baekhyun could say about him. He was kind, thoughtful, beautiful and he seemed to really care about Chanyeol if the way he hung off the other’s arm said anything.

By the end of the outing, Lu Han had given him a quick hug and a smile, telling him how he couldn’t wait to spend time together again. When Chanyeol gave him a warm smile too, reaching over to grab Lu Han’s hand and say goodbye, Baekhyun knew he had to get over his best friend.

He told both Jongdae and Minseok about Lu Han, feeling as sad as Minseok as he relayed just how happy the couple were together. It didn’t take long for his friends to realise his love for Chanyeol, Minseok hugging him on the side and consoling him desolately.

“This sucks,” Baekhyun said sadly, rubbing his head on Minseok’s shoulder.

“It does,” his friend replied with a loud sigh.

“It’s so sad seeing my friends like this,” Jongdae frowned at them, reaching over to pat at both of their heads.

The two didn’t move, dead in their seat. Minseok crooned a sad song and Baekhyun sang along with him, holding their combined hands up in the air.

“Are you guys going insane?” Jongdae asked, twirling his seat around to face the singing duo. Their voices cracked as they sang louder, ignoring their friend.

The days passed by rather uneventfully after that. Life returned back to normal as Baekhyun pined over his committed best friend. He missed their hugs, their kisses, their intimacy. While Chanyeol never hesitated to hug him like he had done in the past, he seemed a little more controlled now. His touches never lingered, his hugs always chaste. He had cooled down on touching Baekhyun, holding Lu Han instead.

Baekhyun didn’t blame him, smiling sadly when Chanyeol threw him apologetic looks. It seemed as though the other was heeding his warning about holding back on their intimacy around his new boyfriend. The Dara thing must’ve really scarred him.

It hurt Baekhyun but he just put up with it. There was nothing else he could do. He loved his best friend and if he wanted to spend time with him, then he’d have to put up with this weird space between them. A little bit of Chanyeol was better than no Chanyeol.

Lu Han had started popping up all the time, coming with Chanyeol to class and sitting in his Music lecture even if the guy didn’t study music at all. He was able to sing too which pissed Baekhyun off for some reason. Music was _their_ thing -- Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s thing. And yet Lu Han had to intrude on that.

Chanyeol really liked the other coming along though, smile as bright as the sun whenever the petite man showed up in their class. He liked Lu Han coming so much that he asked Baekhyun if he was okay with Lu Han perhaps coming with them to the studio. Which soon became, is it okay if Lu Han came with us to the record store? Is it okay if Lu Han came for our movie night?

And so that’s what Baekhyun was doing now, cleaning his house for their movie night. His heart pained in his chest at the thought of things he used to enjoy exclusively with Chanyeol now becoming something less special. They had been dating for two months and Lu Han practically came along _everywhere_. Baekhyun was never alone with Chanyeol anymore.

It was okay, Baekhyun could put up with it, whatever. If it made Chanyeol happy, then Baekhyun would do anything. But, asking him if it was okay for Lu Han to come for their _movie_ night? Ouch. That hurt a lot more than Baekhyun dared to admit. Their movie night was something special, something they had done since they were kids. And now Chanyeol was bringing his boyfriend along. His boyfriend that _wasn’t_ Baekhyun.

Movie night wasn’t special anymore.

“Hey Baek!” Chanyeol walked in the house, hand wrapped around Lu Han.

“Hi Baekhyun,” Lu Han smiled at him, releasing Chanyeol’s hand and taking his shoes off by the door.

“Hi…” Baekhyun stood around awkwardly, already feeling as though he was third wheeling. Third wheeling in his own house, damn. This was a new level of low.

He watched as Lu Han quickly grabbed Chanyeol’s hand before perusing Baekhyun’s house. Looking at the little trinkets Baekhyun’s mother had scattered on the walls, Lu Han hummed appreciatively.

“You have a really nice house,” Lu Han said, staring at the paintings and other accessories that jazzed up his place.

“Thanks, my family travels a lot.” Baekhyun nodded, arms crossed as he stared at the cabinet of goodies from around the world. “Which is why they aren’t here.”

“Did you clean the house?” Chanyeol laughed, looking at the spotless kitchen counter that was usually filled with Baekhyun’s junk.

Blushing, Baekhyun rolled his eyes, reaching over to hit at Chanyeol’s arm. His fingers brushed the soft material of the younger boy’s shirt for a second too long. It was hard to drag his hand away.

“Wanted to make a good impression for our new… visitor.”

“Well it looks great!” Lu Han responded happily, not noticing Baekhyun’s weird energy.

They had quickly chosen a movie after that, Baekhyun taking out the leftover meat his mother had frozen in their freezer. He cooked some rice and chopped up a few vegetables, taking out some side dishes to go along with it. They ate quietly as they watched the comedy, Baekhyun sitting far away from the couple who whispered lovingly.

The sight made Baekhyun feel so lonely, watching as Chanyeol wrapped his arm around Lu Han. Watching as Lu Han snuggled into his embrace. He wanted Chanyeol to cuddle him. He wanted Chanyeol to wrap his arms around _him_ , around _Baekhyun_. He wanted to feel Chanyeol’s huge palms hold _him_ tight. He wanted to feel Chanyeol’s warmth protect him like he had done so many times since they were kids.

A choked sob built its way up into Baekhyun’s chest, forcing him to excuse himself to go to the bathroom. Not like the couple noticed him leaving anyway, too caught up in each other to realise Baekhyun had left.

When he reached the bathroom, he stared into the mirror, watching hot tears leave wet streaks down his face. The tears didn’t stop dropping, falling again and again down the pale plains of his cheeks and leaving wet patches on the edge of the sink. He couldn’t stop crying at the thought of the happy couple together, finally realising that he and Chanyeol weren’t going to have the same relationship ever again.

He let out a sob, face contorting in sorrow as he gripped the area where his heart resided, feeling the pain blossom in his chest. Chanyeol wasn’t ever going to love him the way Baekhyun loved him. Baekhyun was going to have to deal with Chanyeol loving Lu Han, while he remained the close friend on the side. He was going to have to watch them be happy together.

It hurt. It hurt so terribly. Baekhyun cried into the mirror, nose becoming stuffy. He quickly washed his face, sitting on the toilet as he waited for the signs of his crying to disappear.

“Hey, where were you?” Chanyeol asked when he came back, arm still curled around Lu Han’s shoulders.

“Ah, I think it was the dinner?” Baekhyun knew he sounded off and he wondered if Chanyeol noticed it. “You guys feeling sick? I had some mad constipation.”

They sent him consolatory looks, turning back to the movie. The room was dark, lights off, and Baekhyun inwardly thanked himself for having the foresight to turn off the lights. At least now they wouldn't see the red marks under his eyes.

Taking his seat once again, Baekhyun let out a pained sigh. He really, really needed to get over Chanyeol.

 

Baekhyun was at university, sitting in the library the Thursday after Lu Han had joined them for their movie night. He had found himself spending more time in the library. Chanyeol hardly ever had time for him at university anymore, constantly with Lu Han. It sucked but Baekhyun found himself actually getting work done. And the work helped him try to get over the tall boy. Not like _that_ was working, but all the same.

He was nearly finished with one of his Music assignments, tinkering with the final adjustments and liking the way the song sounded. It was something he wrote quite quickly in response to Chanyeol leaving him.

Chanyeol had no clue it was about him, no clue that he even _made_ the song. It pained him to think that in the past, Chanyeol would’ve known about all of his assignments, all of his music. He would’ve sat down and helped Baekhyun with the chords, strumming away on his guitar, snapback on his head.

 He was just about done when his phone buzzed on the table. The name ‘Babe’ popped up on the screen and Baekhyun quickly unlocked his phone, smiling happily. When he saw the message however, his smile dropped.

_Hey baek sorry for the late notice but its me and luhan’s 2 nd month anniv today. gotta take a rain check on our movie night will treat u to something later cya_

Well then.

Baekhyun stood up, grabbing his laptop sharply. He threw open the first study room door he could see, collapsing on the ground. His bag and laptop was scattered around him as he breathed in deeply, trying to control his emotions.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Looking up suddenly, Baekhyun was faced with that same boy from all those months ago. Well, it must’ve been two months ago considering it was Chanyeol and Lu Han’s second month anniversary.

“You…” Baekhyun’s voice cracked slightly on the word and he shook his head, clearing his throat. “Hey again.”

“Hi there,” the boy smiled at him, moving his feet away from the seat once more. “You okay?”

Standing up, Baekhyun moved shyly towards the tall boy, sitting down on the seat in front of him.

“Yeah,” he breathed, placing his laptop on the table. “Just heard some unpleasant news.”

The boy frowned at him, tapping his pen on the side of his seat. “That sucks. It’s nice to see you though.”

Baekhyun grinned at him, the pain in his chest alleviating slightly. “Nice to see you too.”

Looking at the papers scattered around him once again, Baekhyun asked if he was doing another assignment.

The boy nodded, letting out a weary sigh.

“Yep, sadly. It’s always sad.”

Baekhyun laughed slightly, turning on his laptop once again.

“How’s your music thing going?” The boy asked, cocking his head to the side.

“Good, I’m just about finished one of my assignments,” he opened the program. The boy looked interested and Baekhyun turned to face him, a little shy. “Do you… want to hear it?”

The boy nodded, a smile on his face.

Pressing play, Baekhyun watched the other as he listened to the song, face revealing nothing. He raised his eyebrows when Baekhyun’s singing started playing, looking impressed. By the end of the song, he was staring at the smaller boy in awe.

“That was amazing?” The statement came out like a question and Baekhyun let out a laugh, moving over to stop the bar from running. “Holy crap.”

“Thanks,” Baekhyun smiled, sincerely. “I’m really glad you enjoyed it.”

“You sing amazing. Your song is amazing. I am amazed.”

The boy actually looked amazed and Baekhyun laughed once more. He reached over to scratch at the top of his head, watching the handsome boy blink, astonished.

“Are you busy tonight?” The boy asked, turning to face him once again. “Can I take you out for dinner?”

Letting out a surprised laugh, Baekhyun bit his lip. Was he being asked out? The boy looked genuine, like he wasn’t planning on ditching Baekhyun mid-date. He had never been on a date before. This was pretty exciting.

“No,” _not anymore_ , Baekhyun thought ironically. “Sure.”

The boy looked really happy, eyes disappearing into moon-like crescents.

“Wait,” he let out an embarrassed laugh. “I don’t even know your name.”

“Oh,” Baekhyun joined him, hands clasping together. “Baekhyun. What’s yours?”

“Sehun.”

 

The name had sounded the slightest bit familiar but Baekhyun just brushed it off, glad that he finally had a name to match the gorgeous stranger’s face. They finished off their work in relative peace, Sehun’s papers still draped all around the room like he had thrown them in spite. It was soothing to work with Sehun by his side and when the time ticked on the clock, indicating that it was nearing five-thirty in the afternoon, Baekhyun asked if the other wanted to leave.

They decided to go out for burgers at a sports bar Baekhyun had been to twice. Sehun was really nice and Baekhyun enjoyed his company, laughing happily at his jokes and grinning at the plate of chicken wings.

“You’re really attractive, Baekhyun,” Sehun said once they finished dinner, moving over to stand quite close to the smaller man.

He had been right in assuming that Sehun was tall, long legs and nicely proportioned waist. He was nearly as tall as Chanyeol and Baekhyun smiled at the other, thanking him for the compliment.

“You’re really attractive yourself.”

He asked Baekhyun if he wanted to go for after-dinner drinks, feeling bad that the smaller man had paid for dinner. They ended up at a dive bar known for their Thursday night specials. It didn’t take long before Baekhyun had downed a few drinks and was feeling a little tipsy.

“Hey! Dance with me,” Baekhyun pulled the tall guy off the stool and towards the makeshift dance area. There weren’t many people dancing and Baekhyun half expected the guy to refuse. Much to Baekhyun's surprise, he agreed, joining the smiling boy quickly.

He held Baekhyun by the waist, letting the smaller man dance to his heart’s content.

“Wow, you’re actually a good dancer,” Baekhyun laughed watching the other dance sultrily next to him.

“You sound surprised.”

“I’m just…” Baekhyun shook his head. “I have a friend that’s as tall as you. He isn’t the best dancer in the world.”

Sehun just smiled at him, grabbing Baekhyun by the hips and pulling him close. Their thighs brushed against each other and the smaller let out a soft whine in the back of his throat.

“Baekhyun?” Sehun sounded questioning and Baekhyun let out a ‘yes?’ noise. “Can I kiss you?”

Smiling at the tall boy, Baekhyun quickly nodded, closing his eyes. He hadn’t kissed anyone since Chanyeol and it was disorientating feeling Sehun’s lips envelop him from above. Kissing Sehun was so different to kissing Chanyeol, the two of them not having found their groove yet. Chanyeol usually devoured him, hands pressing with sure purpose, knowing just how to handle Baekhyun after years of kissing.

It was still nice kissing Sehun and Baekhyun moaned in his mouth when the other grinded slightly on his thigh.

They continued to drink and dance til late in the night, lips constantly finding themselves pressing against each other.

“Wanna come home with me?” Baekhyun breathed into Sehun’s ear, hands now clasped around the tall boy’s ass.

They continued to touch each other outside of the bar, in the cab and inside Baekhyun’s house. It didn’t take long before their clothes were off, Baekhyun’s mouth around Sehun’s cock.

“Fuck, you’re so good at this,” Sehun swore, right hand gripping Baekhyun’s hair.

The smaller man just hummed around the thick cock, feeling the rush of alcohol and arousal burn within him.

They had moved towards each other soon afterwards, Baekhyun admitting that he was a virgin and Sehun reassuring him that they didn’t have to do anything so soon.

“It’s okay Baekhyun,” Sehun soothed him, touching the side of his face. Baekhyun’s eyes fluttered shut, alcohol swirling through his brain and making him slightly slow.

“No, I want to.”

And so Baekhyun had sex. And it wasn’t with Chanyeol.

Sehun’s touches felt nice against his skin, large palms holding him against the bed. It reminded Baekhyun of Chanyeol and he whined in the back on his throat when he felt Sehun push in after prepping him slowly. He always thought he’d have sex with Chanyeol. He always thought his first time was going to be with Chanyeol.

But it wasn’t with Chanyeol.

Sehun fucked him well and good, pushing him into the bed as Baekhyun moaned. Why hadn’t he been fucked before this? Why did he wait so long?

It didn’t take too long before Baekhyun was spilling, alcohol making him hot and especially horny under the warm covers. Sehun followed soon after, pushing him into the bed and cleaning him up. What a gentleman.

They fell asleep soon after, Baekhyun’s legs wrapped around strong thighs and a hard chest in his face. He whispered a soft ‘Chanyeol’ before he fell asleep, eyes fluttering shut.

 

He woke up to a painful headache and a loud ringing coming from the side of the bed. Quickly pushing himself to grab the phone, Baekhyun pressed the answer button groggily.

“H…ello,” it hardly sounded like him, voice hoarse and slightly phlegmy. He cleared his throat before saying it again.

“Hello?” The deep voice through the phone sounded confused and Baekhyun rubbed at his head.

“What’s up, babe?” Baekhyun mumbled into the pillow, face squashed against the soft fabric. It must’ve been really early in the morning, why was Chanyeol calling now?

“Baek?” Chanyeol sounded confused. “What-I… I must’ve called the wrong number.”

“Wow, am I just a mistake to you, huh?” Baekhyun snorted sleepily into the phone. “Ok see ya let me sleep.”

“O-okay, and I mean no! You’re not a mistake. I was just… yes. Okay sleep. Talk to you later.”

“Mm.”

Baekhyun let the phone fall on the pillow, his eyes closed shut. He felt a pair of legs rub against his and he opened his eyes to see Sehun staring at him from the other side of the bed. Smiling at his partner, Baekhyun leaned over to give him a kiss.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning,” Sehun returned, pressing his lips against his.

Languidly wrapping his legs around the other, Baekhyun pressed forward into Sehun, enjoying the way their naked skin felt brushing against each other. He was just about to grind his awakening erection on a strong thigh before the phone rang again.

“Ugh,” Baekhyun groaned picking up the device and speaking a little more clearly into the phone. “Hello?”

“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol’s voice sounded really confused now.

Sitting up in bed, the sheet fell down slightly, revealing his naked figure. He turned to face Sehun and rolled his eyes.

“Why are you calling me again?” Baekhyun asked, watching as Sehun moved to rest his head against his waist.

“I… I thought I was calling someone else!”

“Well you’re just calling me, sweets,” Baekhyun responded, distracted, feeling Sehun’s lips press soft kisses on his waist. “Sorry about that.”

“Then what would happen if I call…” Chanyeol muttered. “Hey, I’ll talk to you later, okay Baek?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Baekhyun replied, eyes stuck on Sehun who was now lavishly licking at his naked nipple. “Buh-bye.”

“By—”

Baekhyun ended the phone call before the other could even finish saying bye, eyes trained on the beauty in front of him.

“Sorry about that,” he said breathlessly, dragging Sehun into a long kiss. “My stupid friend keeps calling me.”

“That’s okay—” but the phone rang again.

It was Sehun’s phone this time and Baekhyun absentmindedly remembered that they had the same ringtone. Sehun reached over to grab the phone that was at the end of the bed. He picked up the device without even looking at the screen, eyes trained on Baekhyun.

“Hello? Hey man. Huh, what? Something’s weird with your phone? Yeah. What? Nah, I’m busy.”

Snuggling into his side, Baekhyun pressed a wet kiss onto his waist, teeth dipping into soft skin.

Sehun groaned slightly into the phone, causing Baekhyun to smirk.

“Yes, see, I’m busy. I thought you were busy with Hannie? Uh oh, trouble in paradise?”

Baekhyun was now seated on top of Sehun, mouth practically devouring the other’s lithe body.

“Okay okay, I gotta go. Bye, yeah bye.”

He threw the device towards Baekhyun’s, the two identical phones right next to each other. With a lascivious smirk, he crawled back towards the smaller man, pressing his hardening erection into Baekhyun’s thigh.

“Now… where were we?”

 

Baekhyun’s phone rang a few hours later as he sat alone in his room, concentrated on his computer. He briefly saw the name ‘Babe’, picking up the device and holding it against his ear.

“What’s up, babe?”

“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol sounded surprised to hear him, like he wasn’t the one who had called. “But… I thought…”

“What was with all that calling in the morning, Chanyeollie?” Baekhyun asked, letting out a yawn. “You called me twice.”

“I think my phone is messing up,” Chanyeol responded, sounding extremely confused. “It’s mixing your contact details up with another friend of mine. I thought I swapped it in the morning, but now it’s working again?”

“What?”

“Never mind…” Chanyeol muttered quietly.

“So, were you not supposed to call me now?” Baekhyun asked, eyes still stuck on his computer screen. “I’m feeling very left out nowadays.”

His heart clenched in pain at the thought of Chanyeol leaving him, but he pushed away those feelings as best as possible.

“No, I mean. Yeah, I wasn’t technically but no. Wanna hang out tonight? I’m sorry for ditching last night. We can go clubbing if you want.”

“Hmm,” Baekhyun was half interested by the offer, but the pain in his ass made him refuse. “Sorry babe, I’m a little tired today.”

“Ahh,” Chanyeol sounded sad, “Okay no worries. Next time.”

“Next time,” Baekhyun repeated, slightly distracted.

“Okay, well. See you? Later?”

“Bye bye,” Baekhyun replied, taking the phone away from his face and pressing the end call button. The pain in his heart deepened when he looked down at the small device. That was definitely the most awkward conversation he had ever had with Chanyeol. It hurt to think that they were becoming distant. That the single most important person to him was falling out of his life.

No, he couldn’t let that happen. Chanyeol was really important to him. He couldn’t let the other leave without trying to keep him.

Pressing the home button on his phone, he quickly tapped the screen a few times.

“Hey Chanyeol? You still free tonight?”

 

Lu Han didn’t come.

Baekhyun was shocked.

Lu Han actually didn’t come.

It was just Chanyeol and Baekhyun. Just like old times.

“Where’s Lu Han?” Baekhyun asked as soon as he saw the other walk towards him in his fitting buttoned down shirt.

“I thought it would be nice to spend some time together.”

Baekhyun smiled at him, automatically wrapping his arm around his best friend’s waist. Chanyeol held him steady, fingers grazing the back of Baekhyun’s elbow.

“It’s nice to see you,” Baekhyun said, glancing up at his tall friend.

Chanyeol looked down at him, a bright smile on his face. He squeezed Baekhyun, large hands especially warm tonight.

“It’s nice to see you too.”

Baekhyun had decided on ice-skating for only the most platonic night out. He didn’t want to _think_ of alcohol, having had his fair share the night before. He thought Chanyeol might disagree to ice-skating but the other quickly agreed to whatever, seemingly happy that they were able to spend the time together.

It was nice ice-skating with his best friend. They held hands the entire time, making sure they didn’t fall over onto the cold hard ground. The last time they had gone ice-skating was when they were kids and so Baekhyun found himself laughing whenever Chanyeol lost his balance and fell. Karma bit him up the rear end when the tall boy pulled him down to join him.

“You’re a douche!” Baekhyun laughed happily, ice-skates digging into the icy floor. He was practically sitting in Chanyeol’s lap and he pressed a cold finger against the other’s nose.

“You’re the one who kept laughing at me!” Chanyeol held him by the waist, nose scrunching unhappily as his fingers dug into Baekhyun’s hips.

“Well, just because you skate worse than me doesn’t mean you have to drag me down with you.”

“But I always want you with me,” Chanyeol whined, wrapping his arms around Baekhyun and holding the boy close to him.

Happiness bloomed in Baekhyun’s chest as he let himself be hugged by his best friend. He smiled, fondness escaping him in waves.

“I always want you with me too.”

Something had changed in the atmosphere but Baekhyun wasn’t sure what it was. One second he was being held in Chanyeol’s grasp, the next second Chanyeol’s lips were on his. It was so easy to melt back into their kisses, his fingers brushing up to touch at a scratchy jaw.

Chanyeol devoured him, pushing into Baekhyun and kissing him whole. It felt so wonderful, so natural kissing Chanyeol and Baekhyun moaned slightly when the other licked at his lips, opening his mouth wide.

So hot, so wet, yet at the same time so, so _cold_. Baekhyun broke away from the kiss realising that they were in public. In a public ice-skating rink. _On the ground_.

“Babe,” Baekhyun whispered, breathing haggard.

The haze suddenly cleared from Chanyeol’s eyes and he looked at Baekhyun, surprised.

“Oh god, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry Baek. I didn’t mean. I—”

“It’s okay,” Baekhyun tried to calm the other down, reaching a hand up to brush gently at his cheek.

Chanyeol moved his head away from the touch and Baekhyun brought his fingers back to his chest, feeling burned.

“No it’s not,” the tall boy sounded frantic and he quickly stood up, helping Baekhyun as he did so. “Lu Han…”

“Oh…” Baekhyun breathed out, eyes shutting in sadness.

Of course. He forgot about Lu Han for a few seconds. For a few seconds it was just Baekhyun and Chanyeol as it always was.

But how could he forget that it _wasn’t_ Baekhyun and Chanyeol. It was Chanyeol and Lu Han.

“Um well,” Baekhyun dusted the ice shavings off his jeans. “I’ll just. I’m gonna go.”

The tall boy sent him a pleading look. He looked so sorrowful under the sallow lights of the establishment, handsome face turning downwards in sadness.

“Baek. You don’t have to…”

Shaking his head brusquely, Baekhyun moved to skate away. He wasn’t meant to be here with Chanyeol. That was something he needed to realise. Fast.

“No, no. It’s… You should be with Lu Han. It’s Friday. Friday night.”

“Baek…” Chanyeol’s voice sounded sad.

“Bye babe.”

He turned around and skated away, the cold icy air chilling his lungs. He hoped the air could freeze his broken heart too.

 

 

“Hey Sehun? Wanna come over?”

 

 

Baekhyun hadn’t talked to Chanyeol in weeks. Two nearly three weeks. His heart hurt at the thought of the tall boy, but Baekhyun tried to push the feelings away. The other was probably enjoying himself with Lu Han anyway.

Sehun had been spending a lot of time over at his place, but Baekhyun made sure the other knew his intentions. He didn’t want to be in a relationship, not when his heart was still hung up over Chanyeol.

Sehun had asked why he wasn’t interested in a relationship and Baekhyun found it necessary to explain.

“It sucks pining over a best friend,” Baekhyun had said somewhat tiredly. “Especially one that’s already committed.”

Sehun had shot him a sympathetic look before he went down on him, helping Baekhyun forget all and everything about the one he was pining for.

Now, he was snoozing in bed, the sun’s rays warm on his bare back. Sehun was next to him, legs happily entwined with his own. Today was a Saturday, a day of rest from his hectic schedule. It was nice to just laze around and sleep in, especially when he knew he’d be able to participate in some morning sex later on.

Just as he was about to fall back asleep, the doorbell rang. Ignoring it, Baekhyun mumbled unhappily into the pillow. It was too early to be talking to sales people. Too early to be doing anything but sleeping.

The bell rang again, loud in the otherwise silent house.

“Who is it?” The boy next to him mumbled, hair sticking up jaggedly. Baekhyun smiled at the cute sight, reaching over to push the strands of hair down.

“Not sure.”

The ringing didn’t stop and Baekhyun rolled his eyes, hastily putting on a pair of pants. He pressed a kiss on Sehun’s cheek, hearing the other hum slightly.  

His bare feet felt cold against the wooden flooring and he scratched at his waist, wishing he put a shirt on. With crusted eyes he opened the door, yawning loudly.

“Babe?” He blinked, seeing the figure of his best friend stand awkwardly by the door.

The tall man pushed past Baekhyun, walking into the house.

“You’ve been avoiding me again,” it was like he didn’t even see Baekhyun, immediately moving towards the kitchen. “Can you stop avoiding me?”

He turned to face Baekhyun after he said that, eyes widening at the sight of Baekhyun’s half naked figure. A hot gaze trailed up and down Baekhyun’s chest, eventually stopping on a spot near the smaller man’s neck.

The slightly older man looked towards his chest, noticing the reddish hickey at the corner of his collarbone. Blushing hot, Baekhyun folded his arms, not wanting the other to see the blemish.

“You’ve been avoiding me too.”

“Do you… have someone over?” Chanyeol asked, voice low. There was something off about Chanyeol’s voice, about Chanyeol’s gaze. He didn’t look the happiest but maybe that was just Baekhyun reading the situation wrong. God knew how tired he was.

With a nod, Baekhyun moved towards the kitchen, feeling the sizzling stare burn into his back. He turned on the coffee machine, pressing a few buttons to get it working.

“Two sugars, right?”

His friend mumbled a yes, and Baekhyun smiled tersely at him, leaning over to rest his arms on the kitchen table.

“I can leave if you’re busy…”

Despite rushing in with no regard for Baekhyun’s privacy, his friend seemed awkward now that he knew Baekhyun had someone over. It was a drastic change in character, but Baekhyun just shook his head, pointing towards the coffee machine.

“I already have the coffee on.”

“Oh.”

There was silence after that, the whirring of the coffee machine the only noise Baekhyun could hear. Chanyeol looked as awkward as he sounded and the smaller man snickered a little at the sight.

“Cheer up, babe. What’s got you here so early?”

There was a hesitant look on Chanyeol’s face and he sat on one of the kitchen stools rather slowly, like he was half certain Baekhyun was going to pull the seat from under him.

This was going to be difficult.

“I just miss you, Baek.”

Baekhyun’s steely feelings softened and he sent the other a warm glance, taking the cup of freshly brewed coffee and mixing it with the right amount of sugar and milk. He placed the cup in front of his best friend, elbows planted on the marble table.

“I miss you too, Chanyeollie,” Baekhyun admitted, feet cold against the floor.

There was nothing he could do though when Chanyeol wasn’t his. When Chanyeol was thinking of Lu Han at all times.

Maybe Chanyeol wasn’t his, but he _was_ his best friend. He was always his best friend.

“I’m sorry for avoiding you,” Baekhyun breathed, shooting the other a glance. He had managed to look past his Chanyeol feelings well enough during the past few weeks, ignoring the weird ache in his stomach.

Now that Chanyeol was here, in front of him, he couldn’t help but feel warm. It was nice to see his best friend again, despite it being an awkward situation.

“Can we… Can we try the friends thing again? I’m sorry for last time.”

Chanyeol sounded extremely sorry, like he definitely wasn’t going to be making the same mistake again. Which was somewhat disappointing. Baekhyun liked kissing him.

He inwardly shook his head. No. Chanyeol was his friend. Friends don’t kiss.

“Yeah, okay.”

Standing up, Chanyeol opened his arms and beckoned towards Baekhyun to come and wrap his arms around him. He looked worried that Baekhyun wasn’t going to acquiesce, but continued to stand there, arms stretched wide in hope.

In hope.

With a smile, Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol. He could see the little kid he knew as a child in there, the chubby boy who played with ferrets. He could see the lanky tween who found friendship in Kris. He could see the teenager who kissed Baekhyun for the first time.

He could see his best friend.

And nothing, no one, not Dara, not Lu Han, not _anyone_ could destroy something as precious as their bond.

And so Baekhyun sunk into his best friend’s embrace, naked skin brushing against soft fabric. He pushed his nose into the hard chest he loved, fingers holding him tight. Chanyeol wrapped his arms around him, lips pressing against the top of his head. He held Baekhyun so tight, keeping him caught within his embrace. Chanyeol always hugged him like that, like Baekhyun was a special gift that needed to be protected. It made him feel like he was the most precious flower in the world, like no one could ever hurt him.

Chanyeol’s warm hands were hot against his naked skin, fingers holding him close, but Baekhyun didn’t even flinch. There was comfort in this embrace, security and comfort and something that felt a lot like love.

This was an embrace filled with love.

They were Baekhyun and Chanyeol after all. Of course their hugs would be filled with love.

Chanyeol’s cheek was against his head like it always was, and Baekhyun breathed out slightly.

“I love you, Chanyeollie.”

This was the one thing Baekhyun knew from the bottom of his heart and he wanted to make sure Chanyeol knew it too.

Pressing a kiss on the top of Baekhyun’s head, Chanyeol’s lips parted.

“I—”

“Hey Baek, I’ll lea—what.”

Baekhyun was content to continue hugging Chanyeol, face pressed soothingly into a hard chest. But that decision was taken away from him when his best friend ripped away to face Sehun.

Ah, this was most likely an unwelcome sight. Chanyeol probably assumed Baekhyun had a lady over. Not a man.

His sex-partner was dressed now, but his hair was still a little messy, cowlick defying gravity as always.

“Sehun?” Chanyeol gaped, mouth wide open. He looked at Sehun and then at Baekhyun and then back at Sehun.

“You guys know each other?” Baekhyun frowned, watching the scene unfold.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Chanyeol almost growled, fists clenching at his sides.

“I could be asking you the same question?” Instead of sounding angry, Sehun sounded confused. “What did I catch you guys doing?”

“Um, guys…” Baekhyun moved to stand between the two. There was weird tension brewing between the two tall males.

“Did you fuck him?” Chanyeol asked, eyebrows furrowed. He looked incredibly serious like this was no laughing matter at all.

Baekhyun blushed at the question, his chest turning as red as his cheeks. He knew he had a few hickeys around his neck and collarbone but this was just embarrassing.

“Yes,” Sehun replied, unashamed. He crossed his arms together. “What’s it to you?”

“He’s my-!” Chanyeol started aggressively before he stopped suddenly. His fingers were still clenched into fists and Baekhyun looked at him worriedly. “He’s my best friend.”

There was a moment of silence as Sehun looked between Chanyeol and Baekhyun, truly observing them for the first time.

“Wait… Baek, you’re… you’re Chanyeol’s childhood best friend?”

Nodding his head, Baekhyun frowned. “How do you guys know each other?”

“We’re good friends. We study engineering together.”

“He’s in my study group, Baek.” Chanyeol said a little rough, his body still keyed up. “You know the one you told me to go to?”

Oh. _Oh_.

No wonder the name Sehun sounded familiar. Chanyeol had bragged about Sehun when they first started studying together.

“How do _you_ guys know each other?” Chanyeol asked, sullen. To Baekhyun he sounded jealous but that was probably him overthinking things once again.

“We’re fuck-buddies.” Baekhyun responded without remorse. It seemed out of character for Chanyeol to be sounding jealous over him. They were only friends anyway.

He watched Chanyeol gulp at the words, suddenly looking incredibly jealous. It was weird to see him like that, like he was actually jealous for the sake of loving Baekhyun and not in some weird possessive best friend kind of way.

“Wait, fuck. Baek, Chanyeol’s your best friend, right? Your… your best friend. The—”

“Yes, Sehun,” Baekhyun swallowed, realising what the other was referring to. He had told him about pining away for his best friend. His best friend who was _committed_.

“And Chan, Baek’s your… your best friend. Your…”

“Yeah…” Chanyeol sent the other a look Baekhyun couldn’t exactly decipher.

There was silence for a few seconds before Sehun burst out laughing, hand hitting the side of the kitchen table in glee.

“Holy shit. You guys need to work your shit out, oh my god.”

He was still laughing, hands clutching his stomach. Baekhyun frowned, looking towards Chanyeol in confusion. The other sent him an equally confused look signalling that he had no clue what was going on.

“Should I tell you guys?” Sehun was still laughing, giggles more dispersed now as he took in the sight of the two confused men in front of him. “Or should I let you figure this out for yourselves?”

Still in a state of confusion, Baekhyun continued to frown.

“What are you talking about Sehunnie?”

“I mean, it’s just. You guys! It’s so obvious,” Sehun shook his head. “Okay, I’ll tell you guys because it’s obvious you’re not going to figure it out without my help.”

He moved towards the two of them, reaching out to grab at their hands simultaneously. Slowly, he pressed their palms together, pushing Baekhyun’s fingers to wrap around Chanyeol’s knuckles.

“In the past few weeks, both of you guys have confessed to me about each other,” Sehun admitted, smiling bright at their shocked expressions. “I’ll leave you two to discuss.”

He moved towards the door, putting on his sneakers. He popped his head up just as he was about to leave. “Oh Chan, let Hannie down easily okay? He’s been trying so hard to make you guys work, yeah?”

Chanyeol made a weird grunting noise in the back of his throat, hand still wrapped under Baekhyun’s fingers.

The two of them watched as Sehun left, Baekhyun feeling incredibly tired by the surprising turn of events.

Ripping his hand away from Chanyeol, Baekhyun muttered.

“Let me get a shirt first.”

 

The atmosphere was awkward between them.

Chanyeol liked him. Chanyeol _liked_ him. That’s what Sehun said right? And the other hadn’t denied the claims. So Sehun must be right. Chanyeol liked him.

“What about Lu Han?” Baekhyun asked. Because that was the real issue here. How could he like Baekhyun when he was with Lu Han.

They were sitting on the couch, the one leather couch that had seen a lot of Baekhyun and Chanyeol in the past. In more ways than one. How symbolic was it to have their conversation on _this_ couch.

Chanyeol looked awkward but Baekhyun didn’t budge. He was confused. How could Chanyeol like him when he was with Lu Han?!

“He’s wonderful but…”

“But…?” He tried to urge the words out of his friend, knee pressing into the soft leather couch.

“He’s not you,” Chanyeol finally relented, big eyes searching his best friend.

The words caused a flurry of emotions to spark in Baekhyun’s heart, everything he wanted to hear for the past three months. Chanyeol looked sincere, like he wasn’t just playing with Baekhyun’s feelings for fun. There was a timid grace to his actions as he sat in the seat, legs planted quite stiffly onto the carpeted floor.

“But… I don’t…” Baekhyun whispered, raising a hand up to run through his hair. “I don’t understand.”

“It took me a little while before I realised I loved you.”

Chanyeol didn’t seem to notice that he said the word ‘love’ instead of ‘like’ but Baekhyun sure did, eyes widening in surprise. His heart beat fast in his chest, blood rushing through his limbs. Nerves piled up inside of him, weird tingly feelings rushing all through his body and making his hands and feet feel numb.

“I think it was after he came over for our movie night,” Chanyeol let out a hoarse laugh. “That wasn’t right. He shouldn’t have come.”

Baekhyun wanted to nod in agreement, but instead kept quiet.

“The whole time my brain was saying, ‘this isn’t right’ because I was supposed to be wrapped around _you_. Not anyone else. You were always there with me, from the very beginning. What we had… What we have is special. And it took me bringing Lu Han over to realise that.”

There was a burn in the back of Baekhyun’s head, and he closed his eyes feeling the hot rush of tears suddenly break inside of him. He wouldn’t usually cry but Chanyeol was describing _that_ day. That dreaded day. The day when he locked himself in the bathroom and cried about Chanyeol and Lu Han.

That very same day, Chanyeol realised his feelings for him.

“Baek?” Chanyeol sounded worried. “Hey, you okay?”

Biting his lip, Baekhyun tried to stop the tears from falling. He quickly wiped his face, letting out a quick laugh that highlighted his embarrassment.

“Yeah,” he hiccupped and Chanyeol looked at him tenderly. “I-I’m okay.”

Sending him an extremely fond look, Chanyeol raised his arm and motioned for him to come closer.

“Come here.”

Crawling across the leather chair, Baekhyun pressed himself up against Chanyeol, breathing in the comforting scent of his best friend. Chanyeol held him close, brushing his hand against Baekhyun’s forehead, soothing him softly.

“I love you too, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol laughed loudly, head resting against the top of Baekhyun’s head. He sounded so happy, so amazed and he hugged Baekhyun tighter.

“I think one day ‘Babe’ became ‘babe’ with a lower case B. I don’t know when, but it happened,” Baekhyun laughed snottily, bringing a tissue up to wipe at his face.

“I’m glad it happened,” Chanyeol revealed, happy.

“I’m glad you finally released your feelings for me,” Baekhyun hit the other in the chest, half playful half serious.

“Yeah, me too.”

They cuddled for a while longer, Baekhyun feeling as safe as he always did wrapped up in Chanyeol’s embrace. There were twin smiles on their faces as they snuggled into each other, legs entwining and hearts finally opening.

“What are you going to do about Lu Han?” Baekhyun asked when the silence started to drag on.

Humming, Chanyeol held his hand in his grasp, gently dragging his fingers against the grooves of Baekhyun’s knuckles.

“I’ll have to break up with him.”

“Do it gently, okay?” Baekhyun frowned, turning his face upwards. “He’s really nice. I don’t want him to get really hurt.”

With a teasing grin, Chanyeol moved his head to face Baekhyun and poked him in the side.

“I thought you didn’t like him. You never seemed to.”

Grumbling, Baekhyun turned his face away from the other’s wide grin, embarrassed.

“He was really nice. I was just… jealous.”

Chanyeol’s smile spread across his face and he poked Baekhyun again in the side. “You’re cute.”

“Shut up.”

 

Chanyeol broke up with Lu Han a few days later, returning to Baekhyun’s house with tired eyes. He told him how Lu Han asked ‘why? what did he do wrong?’ and all Chanyeol could say was that he had another person that was number one in his heart.

“He said, ‘it’s Baekhyun isn’t it? I knew there was something special between you two.’”

Baekhyun had soothed Chanyeol gently, holding the other’s hand as he whispered sweet words of encouragement. Even though Chanyeol loved him, he was still going through a break up. Being sad because of the break up was something that was inescapable. At least for a while.

“You know,” Baekhyun said one day on their way to Music. “Minseok had been crushing on Lu Han for like more than a year before you came along.”

“What?” Chanyeol let out a surprised laugh, eyes widening.

“Yeah,” Baekhyun shook his head, “We bonded over our unrequited feelings.”

A hand snaked its way to wrap around Baekhyun, causing the elder to look up at his best friend.

“Not so unrequited anymore.”

Baekhyun squeezed his hand back, smile enveloping his face.

 

Chanyeol courted him very attentively after that, taking him for lunch, for dinner. He took him for movies, for more ice-skating. The dates were filled with laughter and happiness – and a lot of good food.

“Why does this feel so natural?” Baekhyun asked once during a date, staring into the starry night sky. His back was pressed against Chanyeol’s chest as he stared into the multitude of stars and constellations, feeling as though he had the brightest star right next to him.

The taller wrapped his arms around him, holding him close.

“Because we’ve been dating for years.”

“Oh,” Baekhyun laughed loudly, turning in Chanyeol’s grasp. He reached a hand up to gently graze the side of Chanyeol’s jaw, watching as the other smiled and leaned further into his hand. “I see now.”  

 

The first time they had sex was a glorious affair. Chanyeol took care of him so well, stretching him out and making sure Baekhyun was well prepared. He held Baekhyun’s hands as he pushed in, kissing his lips softly.

“I love you,” Chanyeol whispered as soon as he bottomed out, letting Baekhyun adjust to his heavy weight.

“I love you too,” Baekhyun groaned, stretching his thighs wide. “Now go.”

Laughing quietly into Baekhyun’s lips, Chanyeol thrusted experimentally, letting Baekhyun get used to the movement. His thrusts sped up after that, holding Baekhyun’s thighs down and fucking his lover in earnest.

Chanyeol fucked in the same way he kissed Baekhyun, heavy and domineering. He took what he wanted from Baekhyun who was only too happy to give. And together, they chased down their strong and heavy feelings, kissing each other through their orgasms.

 

Life was going well.  

They finished their song, a ballad that included both Chanyeol’s rapping and Baekhyun’s singing. The song itself was really pretty and Baekhyun kissed Chanyeol hard on the mouth when they finished up in the studio, finally done.

When he met up with Jongdae and Minseok the next month, he was met with exciting news.

“So… Lu Han asked me on a date,” Minseok admitted happily, cheeks spreading wide.

“Really?” Baekhyun exclaimed loudly in the café, wincing in embarrassment when an old lady glared at him.

“Yeah,” Minseok looked so happy, Baekhyun couldn't help but hug his friend.

“Invite me to the wedding!”

“Excuse me, I think you’ll be the one getting married first, Byun Baek.”

Baekhyun didn’t disagree.

 

“Do you remember the first time I told you I loved you?”

They were lying in bed, naked bodies wrapped around each other. Chanyeol was rubbing a circle into the side of Baekhyun’s waist, absentmindedly drawing pretty stars and hearts all over the elder’s milky skin.

Baekhyun was just on the cusp of falling asleep, body exhausted. He hummed slightly at the question, resting his head gently into the side of Chanyeol’s neck.

“At graduation.”

“Yes,” Chanyeol smiled, moving his hand over to hold Baekhyun’s. “But do you know when I really started loving you?”

“What, this year?”

“No, since you beat up those bullies for me,” Chanyeol laughed a little, pressing a kiss into Baekhyun’s neck. “You were always the one for me.”

Baekhyun smiled sleepily, moving over to hug gently at Chanyeol’s chest. He nuzzled his face into strong pecs, reaching a hand up to gently trace at his boyfriend’s—his _best friend_ —his lover’s jaw.

“I love you too, babe.”


End file.
